Broadband Funding and Deployment Opportunities for Cities
Broadband Funding and Deployment Opportunities for Cities
The Monday, May 16 launch of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program NOFO marks the first rollout of the $65 billion in funding opportunities for broadband and internet connectivity programs contained within the IIJA/BIL. As part of the Accelerator’s series of bulletins to help localities with IIJA/BIL implementation (the series follows up on our IIJA Federal Investment Guide for Local Leaders), Accelerator for America and our partners at the Nowak Metro Finance Lab spoke with experts, advocates and federal agency staff to explore each of the broadband deployment programs available through IIJA/BIL, as well as other related federal legislation, to hone in on the best ways for cities to increase broadband access.
Before we get into the breakdown of programs, we feel it is imperative to highlight the following:
State governments have near exclusive authority over the deployment of broadband funds. Accordingly, it is imperative that mayors act now to develop relationships with their state broadband offices. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NITA) has created an interactive map with state by state broadband office contact information and program details. The map is found here (scroll down on that page to view the map). Accelerator for America is here to provide assistance in facilitating those connections if necessary. Please contact Ross van Dongen at ross@acceleratorforamerica.org with questions on how to connect.
Local engagement with the FCC may also be critical. In addition to plans developed by states, NTIA will utilize parcel-level maps developed by the FCC through a third party contractor, to determine states’ levels of need. These maps are due from the contractor to the FCC on September 1, 2022 and will identify two priority groups based on their download speeds (how quickly devices receive data from the internet) and upload speeds (how quickly devices can send data to the internet) typically written as “Down/Up Mbps”:
Priority One: Unserved - those residents whose internet speeds are at or below 25/3 Mbps
Priority Two: Underserved - those residents whose internet speeds are at or below 100/20 Mbps
Previous maps of this kind have long been suspected of overstating national broadband coverage, and the worry here is that unserved communities may be incorrectly categorized as lower-priority underserved communities. Once the parcel level maps are released by the FCC, local representatives such as mayors, city attorneys and community organizations, may appeal the FCC’s findings. It is in cities’ and states’ best interest to ensure all under and unserved areas are properly designated, as dollars are directly tied to the level of under and unserved population in a given state.
“This is not an urban vs. rural or a black vs. white problem. This is a low-income problem. The state and local relationship has never been more important.” Kathryn De Wit, Project Director for The Pew Charitable Trust’s Broadband Access Initiative,
“The most important thing mayors should know is to identify your local partners first. There is probably [an entity] doing the work that will be open to collaboration and make your lift easier.” Brandy Reitter, Executive Director of the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO)
Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) - $42.45 billion, NTIA
The BEAD NOFO will be issued no later than May 16.
States must then submit “Letters of Intent” to receive an initial allocation of $100 million to support planning efforts including capacity building in state broadband offices and outreach and coordination with local communities. These planning efforts will be integral in determining the level of additional funding states receive from the NTIA.
Once funds are received, each state will develop a five year action plan that, according to the program text (found in IIJA 135 STAT. 1192) “identifies, and outlines steps to support, local and regional broadband planning processes or ongoing efforts to deploy broadband or close the digital divide and describes coordination with local governments, along with local and regional broadband planning processes.”
If that five year action plan is accepted and approved, states will receive the first 20% (or more dependent on the discretion of the Assistant Secretary) of their allocation to begin implementation; the remaining 80% will be distributed as needed throughout the plan’s implementation
If the plan is rejected, the NTIA will provide guidance to the state re-work their plan to maximize impact
Digital Equity Act (DEA) - $2.75 billion, NTIA
The Digital Equity Act established within the IIJA/BIL is a three pronged funding opportunity totalling $2.75 billion to increase access and connectivity across under and unserved regions, in addition to digital literacy and digital skills training among target populations:
$1.44 billion allocated for the implementation of those statewide digital equity plans
$1.25 billion for a competitive digital equity grant program eligible to foundations, non-profit organizations and other public and non-public entities that cities can partner with further target local digital equity
$60 million allocated for the development of statewide digital equity plans
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) - $14.2 billion, FCC
The ACP is an existing FCC-administered program that received $14.2 billion through IIJA/BIL. Through this program, qualifying households can receive a $30/month discount on broadband service plans. Tribal households may qualify for discounts of $75/month. ACP also offers one-time discounts of $100 on laptops, desktops and tablets..
EducationSuperHighway, a national non-profit organization founded by Evan Marwell in 2012, has created an ACP Adoption Toolkit for Local Leaders that offers a step-by-step guide to launching outreach campaigns that raise awareness and encourage participation.
Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program (Middle Mile) - $1 billion, NTIA
This is a $1 billion IIJA/BIL competitive grant program intended to reduce the costs of connecting under and unserved communities to broadband by expanding and extending middle mile infrastructure.
Cities and other forms of local government are eligible to apply for this funding directly as “political subdivisions of states.”
Other eligible entities include: tech companies, electric utilities or utility co-ops, nonprofit organizations, corporations, economic development authorities and regional planning councils. This creates several partnership opportunities for local leaders to access funding and be creative with how they raise and utilize capital
Eligible entities should aim to fulfill two of the five program priorities below through their applications:
Adopt fiscally sustainable middle mile strategies
Commit to offering non-discriminatory interconnect
Identify specific, documented and sustainable demand for middle mile interconnect
Identify conditions/resources to speed up projects
Demonstrate benefits to national security interests
Capital Project Fund (CPF) - $10 billion, US Treasury through ARPA
CPF was developed for digital technology expansion, multipurpose community centers and broadband deployment. It allocates between $100-500 million directly to states and requires governors to instill guideposts in their plans for equity and inclusion. Ultimately, however, there is limited federal authority to enforce those guideposts or how the dollars are ultimately spent.
According to Treasury staff, a critical step for all local leaders is continued advocacy for local priorities of their states’ CPF funds
Kathryn de Wit and the Broadband Access Initiative are pushing states to use their dollars to improve connections for their underserved populations, as CPF funds are not restricted to unserved vs. underserved.
Sarah Smith, Senior Manager of Broadband Programs in the Colorado Governor’s Office, has focused a lot of her work on preparing the state’s CPF funding. On April 19th the Colorado’s Broadband Office released county level maps to support the deployment of CPF funds.
Each county has two maps: one features existing broadband infrastructure and the other features Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) (schools, universities, government facilities, etc.) and areas of existing, applied for, or approved funding.
These maps are intended to show the state’s “areas of critical need” and where CPF dollars will generate the greatest impact. See the maps HERE.
State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) - $350 billion, US Treasury through ARPA
Cities are permitted to use their SLFRF allocations to “invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.” Additionally, Treasury’s Final Rule, which took effect on April 1, 2022, allows for greater flexibility in eligible broadband investments to address challenges with access, affordability and reliability.
Eligible broadband investments are those that, according to the final rule, are “designed to provide a certain standard of service to those households and businesses with limited existing service” (25/3 Mbps) and “are limited to [projects] that are designs to deliver, upon project completion, service that reliably meets or exceeds symmetrical upload and download speeds of up 100 Mbps”
“During the pandemic, we saw more local governments, community foundations, and school districts figuring out ways to cover the cost of internet service and purchase computers while also providing technical support and digital skills training. The solutions were local. Digital equity solutions in the U.S. have always been local. On the one hand, this is useful because trusted community relationships are essential to effective digital inclusion work. On the other hand, financial support of local digital inclusion work has been sorely lacking, and now is the time to scale.” Angela Siefer, Executive Director, National DIgital Inclusion Alliance.
Thank you for joining us and your colleagues around the country in exploring IIJA/BIL implementation through this series. We are grateful for your interest, and encourage you to pass this newsletter along within your networks – and please do not hesitate to reach out if we can be of any assistance to you.
We want to credit Education Superhighway, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, The Pew Charitable Trusts Broadband Access Initiative, The Colorado Broadband Office and The Education Libraries Networks Coalition (EdLiNC) for their contribution and also to our experts at the Nowak Lab’s Bruce Katz and Karyn Bruggeman for their dedicated research.
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We appreciate your support and your commitment to creating national change from the ground up.
Thank you for all that you do.