Broadband Infrastructure Project Underway to Help States

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, have teamed up to develop a comprehensive guide to best practices and the federal infrastructure funding process. The lobbying organizations plan to publish a Broadband Infrastructure Playbook to help state governments use some $48 billion in grants for broadband deployment contained in the recently enacted infrastructure law. 

The playbook will provide a detailed overview of the requirements, recommendations for best structuring a state broadband program, as well as benefits for consumers and communities in directing money towards reliable future-proof fiber networks, according to FBA and NTCA. It will also include templates for state funding applications and the competitive awards process. The associations plan to publish the guide early next year before the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) invites grant applications. That’s expected by May 2022.  

Under the new infrastructure law, each state, the District of Columbia and various territories will receive a minimum of $100 million from the NTIA, plus additional funding based on the number of unserved locations. States, territories and D.C. must coordinate with local governments and submit a five-year action plan as part of their application. The FBA and NTCA Broadband Infrastructure Playbook will provide resources, research and templates to help each state.

FBA President/CEO Gary Bolton called the playbook “an educational tool.” His counterpart at NTCA, CEO Shirley Bloomfield said: “Whether they retrofit existing grant programs to comply with NTIA requirements or create completely new broadband programs, our playbook will be designed to help guide these efforts.” 

The associations are asking states and broadband providers to take part in the research for the playbook and share lessons learned from earlier funding programs by contacting: playbook@fiberbroadband.org. Highlights from the playbook will be presented during a pre-conference workshop at Fiber Connect 2022 on June 12, in Nashville.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.