The Biden-Harris Administration has announced its “Internet for All initiative”, which will invest $45 billion to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed internet for everyone in America by the end of the decade. The initiative will be administered and implemented by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Each state is set to receive at least $100 million with each states final funding allotment being based on how many unserved locations they have, as determined by the broadband maps the FCC is expected to release early next year.
States must prioritize funding to projects involving unserved areas first (i.e., locations lacking access to 25/3 Mbps, low-latency broadband service), then underserved areas (i.e., locations lacking access to 100/20 Mbps, low-latency broadband service), and then community anchor institutions (i.e., schools, hospitals, and public safety entities). States also will prioritize funding to high-poverty areas and projects that provide higher-speed broadband services. Funding may be used for: (1) broadband deployment to unserved/underserved areas; (2) connecting eligible community anchor institutions; (3) broadband data collection, mapping, and planning; (4) installing broadband infrastructure or providing reduced-cost broadband in multifamily residential buildings (with priority to poor/unserved households); (5) broadband adoption (including providing internet-capable devices); or (6) any other NTIA-approved use.
CCM’s Board of Directors approved the development of a Statewide Broadband Survey using Great Blue Research. The goals of the survey are to:
- gather clear data that will guide investment of federal infrastructure funds,
- create a GIS map to support strategic deployment of broadband,
- inform research and policy recommendations,
- and support strategic targeting of additional funding streams.
Creation and development of the survey was done in collaboration with our state stakeholder partners: Office of Policy and Management GIS Office, Connecticut Education Network, Office of the State Broadband, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Office of Broadband.
We hope to gather as many resident responses as possible and for that we need your help! Feel free to use this marketing tool assist in your outreach efforts