WASHINGTON, D.C. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announces on June 27 it has allocated funding to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories to deploy high-speed internet service to the United States.
According to a press release, the funding is part of President Joe Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative. Arkansas will get more than $1 billion as part of the initiative.
The release says the U.S. will use funding from the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program to administer grant programs within their borders.
The BEAD funding will be used to deploy or upgrade broadband networks across the U.S., according to the release. Once deployment goals are met, any remaining funding can be used to pursue eligible access-, adoption- and equity-related uses.
The release says states, D.C., and territories will receive their notice of allocation on June 30. They will have 180 days from the date of that notice to submit their initial proposals describing how they propose to run their grant programs.
Eligible entities can begin submitting their initial proposals on July 1, according to the release. Once NTIA approves an initial proposal, which will occur on a rolling basis, eligible entities will be allowed to request access to at least 20% of their allocated funds.
