The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that 11 states and Washington, D.C., received their first planning funds through the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) and the Digital Equity Act programs.
The BEAD program has a total budget of $42.45 billion to expand high-speed Internet service access in unserved and underserved areas.
The Digital Equity Act has a total budget of $2.75 billion and is aimed at ensuring that all people and communities have “the skills, technology and capacity needed to see the full benefits of the digital economy.”
Both programs will be administered by individual states and territories but before funding is released to them, each state and territory must submit plans for how they will administer the programs to NTIA for approval. The planning grants announced today are to be used in preparing those plans.
The most recent planning grant awards are:
- Alaska: $5,567,800: $5 million in BEAD funding, $567,800 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Arkansas: $5,843,671.85: $4,999,998.75 in BEAD funding, $843,673.10 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Colorado: $5,897,116.45: $4,999,997.43 million in BEAD funding, $897,119.02 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Kentucky: $5,874,236.13: $5 million in BEAD funding, $874,236.13 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Maine: $5,542,222.32: $5 million in BEAD funding, $542,222.32 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Missouri: $2,974,642.59: $2,147,304.59 million in BEAD funding, $827,338 in Digital Equity Act funds
- North Dakota: $5,516,380: $5 million in BEAD funding, $516,380 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Pennsylvania: $6,604,131.73: $5 million in BEAD funding, $1,604,131.73 in Digital Equity Act funds
- South Carolina: $5,953,478.05: $5 million in BEAD funding, $953,478.05 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Washington, D.C.: $5,463,126.49: $5 million in BEAD funding, $463,126.49 in Digital Equity Act funds
- West Virginia: $5,728,065: $5 million in BEAD funding, $ 728,065 in Digital Equity Act funds
- Virginia: $6,222,051.95: $4,999,975.50 in BEAD funding, $1,222,076.45 in Digital Equity Act funds
