By John P. Bailey

Broadband has become a fundamental enabling technology that
helps support online learning, remote work, telemedicine, and delivery of
government services. In the same vein, lack of access to affordable broadband
creates enormous challenges for some segments of the population. So it is
significant that the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), now a law, includes more than $65 billion to expand
broadband access and affordable options for low-income individuals.

A forthcoming AEI report will summarize the IIJA’s broadband
provisions and clarify in detail what money is going where. Here is a
preliminary overview.

Broadband Equity,
Access, and Deployment program

Congress is appropriating $42.45 billion to the Department
of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), which will award states grants to support broadband infrastructure,
mapping, and adoption projects. States will receive funding based on a formula
that accounts for the geographic remoteness, population density, and poverty
rates of unserved areas. The law also allows broadband service providers to
challenge state determinations of areas designated as unserved or underserved
and reserves NTIA’s right to modify or reverse an eligibility determination.

As part of the application process, states would submit a
five-year plan informed by collaboration with local and regional entities. NTIA
is also charged with working with the National Institute of Standards and
Technology to provide guidance related to cybersecurity and supply
risk-management practices. Finally, grantees are prohibited from using funds to
purchase specific equipment or services manufactured in China.

Affordable
Connectivity Program

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will receive
$14.2 billion to extend the renamed Emergency Broadband
Benefit program. The current $50 monthly subsidy will fall to $30 per month
for eligible households. Funds can also support a one-time discount of up to
$100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet if the household contributes
more than $10 but less than $50 toward the purchase price.

Digital equity

The IIJA includes the Digital Equity Act of 2021 (H.R. 1841 and S. 2018). NTIA will receive $2.75 billion to improve
connectivity for low-income households and other groups that have been
historically un- or underserved, including older adults, incarcerated
individuals, veterans, individuals with disabilities, English learners, racial
subgroups, and individuals in rural areas.

Rural Utilities
Service’s ReConnect

The Department of Agriculture will receive $2 billion for
the ReConnect Program, which provides loans and grants to fund construction,
acquisition, and improvement of facilities and equipment that provide broadband
service in rural areas.

Broadband
connectivity on tribal lands

NTIA will receive an additional $2 billion for the Tribal
Broadband Connectivity Program, which was established in the December 2020 COVID-19 relief package.

Middle-mile
infrastructure

NTIA will receive $1 billion for a new middle-mile program
to support the construction, improvement, and acquisition of middle-mile
infrastructure — with specific guidelines on eligible uses of funds.

Private activity
bonds

The law provides $600 million for private activity bonds
that can be issued by state or local governments to finance broadband projects.
To qualify, the broadband service must be provided to one or more census blocks
in which more than 50 percent of the residential households do not have access
to fixed broadband services capable of delivering 25 Megabits per second (Mbps)
for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads (i.e., 25/3). The provided service must be
able to deliver speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps.

Universal Service
Fund modernization

These programs are funded through congressional
appropriations — not the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which has been strained by increased demand for expanded services
supported by a declining source of revenue. The IIJA directs the FCC to develop
a plan outlining options for modernizing and improving the fund.

Implementation

NTIA will need to quickly build out the staffing and
capabilities to administer exponentially more funding through more numerous —
and complicated — grant programs. Further complicating matters is that Alan
Davidson was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as NTIA’s director but
is still not confirmed.

Crucial to successful implementation of these funds will be
accurate data and maps of broadband speed and availability. The FCC and NTIA
will need to accelerate the release of new maps, and states will need to
improve data collection and analysis. State governors will also need to
identify and possibly establish new offices to coordinate grant applications
and sub-granting processes.

Finally, philanthropic support will be essential to ensure
states and communities can take advantage of these funding opportunities. A
similar effort is urgently needed to help states develop their plans, engage
their communities, and begin building and prioritizing investments.

Congress has taken an important step toward providing the
resources needed to close the digital divide, but ultimate success will rest on
implementation at the state and local levels. We will need creative
public-private partnerships that can leverage these funds to connect every
home, business, school, health care provider, and entrepreneur in the country.

Stay tuned for the upcoming report.

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