'Internet for All' Initiative implemented by Department of Commerce

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WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Patty Murray and the Department of Commerce launched her the new “Internet for All” initiative on Monday which will invest $65 million to provide high-speed to everyone in the United States by the end of the decade.

The initiative will be implemented by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The program funding is through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that passed last year.

Senator Murray said having access to reliable internet is a necessity for all Americans now.

“Families need high speed internet for their school, their jobs, their health care, and so much more,” said Senator Murray. “This funding will help make sure we get high-speed internet to every community in Washington state—from the Yakima Valley to Bellingham—and it’s going to open countless doors and create real opportunity for workers, students, seniors, and so many others.”

Another part of the infrastructure law was the Digital Equity Act, which is meant to put us on a path to universal broadband.

The ‘Internet for All’ initiative will pull from the Digital Equity Act by providing grants to states, tribes and local communities to close the technology gap. There are $2.75 billion dollars in grants available.

It will also draw on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This provides $42.5 billion in grants to local entities to expand high-speed internet access through funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

To participate in the BEAD Program, states and other eligible entities must submit a letter of intent and plan a funds budget. This will give them $5 million in planning funds and allow states to begin creating a five-year action plan.

Each participating state is guaranteed a minimum $100 million. They may be awarded more funding depending on coverage maps with additional funding determinations made based on coverage maps from the Federal Communications Commission.

 

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