Huntsville, AL – Today, Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu traveled to Adtran’s Huntsville, AL headquarters, to celebrate the announcement of investments in new high-speed Internet network electronics equipment production in the U.S., made possible by the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law requires the use of Made in America construction materials and products for federally funded infrastructure projects, including high-speed Internet service deployment under the Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. As a result, Adtran is announcing an approximately $5 million investment at their Huntsville facility to manufacture key electronics equipment used in high-speed Internet networks, creating up to 300 new jobs.
“This announcement is the latest example of how we’re turning ‘Made in America’ into a reality and expanding manufacturing across the country,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we will connect everyone in America to high-speed Internet networks built by American workers with American-made equipment.”
“The Internet for All initiative is not just a connectivity program, it’s a jobs program—for the people who build the networks and for the people who make the equipment those networks need,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. “If network equipment can be made in America, it should be made in America. Companies like Adtran are stepping up and answering that call.”
“Access to high-speed internet is no longer a luxury – it is an essential tool to access education, healthcare, and jobs,” said Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has made the largest investment in high-speed internet in our country’s history to ensure all Americans are connected to affordable, reliable high-speed internet using Made in America materials. Adtran’s exciting announcement today is part of a manufacturing boom that is creating good-paying jobs and boosting our economy – including here in Huntsville, Alabama.”
Adtran’s investment in its Alabama manufacturing facility comes as states across the country prepare to receive billions of dollars in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, administered by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Adtran, which has made telecom equipment in Alabama for decades, will expand its existing domestic manufacturing capacity for Optical Line Terminal (OLTs) systems, while onshoring the production of Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) from southeast Asia. All of this equipment will be produced at scale in 2024. According to Adtran, the investment will help add up to 300 new manufacturing jobs.
NTIA will release a draft of its Build America, Buy America requirements for the BEAD program later this summer.
Internet for All and Investing in America
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a historic $65 billion investment to expand affordable and reliable high-speed Internet access in communities across the U.S. NTIA recently launched a series of new grant programs funded by the law that will build high-speed Internet infrastructure across the country, create more low-cost high-speed Internet service options, and address the digital equity and inclusion needs in our communities.
Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward Internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal Lands. Visit GetInternet.Gov to sign-up.
For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet programs, please visit InternetforAll.gov.
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and his vision for growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up – Bidenomics – is creating opportunity across the country. Already, as a result of legislation passed by President Biden, the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded $260 billion in funding for 35,000 infrastructure projects across the country. Companies have announced over $500 billion in investments in the United States since President Biden took office, and the Administration has helped over 20 million households save money on their internet costs.
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About the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the Executive Branch agency that advises the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America, expanding the use of spectrum by all users, advancing public safety communications, and ensuring that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.