By June 30, the United States plans to announce more than $42 billion in broadband infrastructure grants to states and territories.
The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will be responsible for providing about $45 billion in infrastructure funding for three distinct programs funded by the Broadband DATA Act passed by Congress in March 2020.
In November 2021, another $1 trillion infrastructure bill was passed, including $65 billion to improve internet access. A separate $10 billion COVID-19 aid program, overseen by the US Treasury Department, aims to expand broadband internet access in underserved communities.
Individuals or organizations can look up their addresses and lodge challenges if they believe that they do not accurately reflect available broadband internet services. State or tribal governments can issue large-scale challenges.
NTIA will distribute all these funds according to a formula that depends on detailed mapping of U.S. locations without access to high-speed broadband internet.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will also release a pre-production draft of new broadband maps that will incorporate challenges to improve provider data.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.