With Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, $36 Million Awarded to Two Tribal Entities in Latest Round of “Internet for All” Grants
WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today it has awarded 2 grants as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). These new grants, totaling more than $36 million, bring the total of the program to over $1.73 billion awarded to 132 Tribal entities. With funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, these grants will expand high-speed Internet service network deployment and digital skills training to improve access to education, jobs, and healthcare on Tribal lands.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to connecting all Tribal communities to affordable and reliable high-speed Internet service,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Our Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is continuing its historic and unprecedented commitment to close the digital divide by investing in Native communities.”
Tribes in two states received grants – Hawaii and Minnesota.
These awards are part of the Biden Administration’s commitment to nation-to-nation engagement and an effort to connect everyone in America, including Native Americans and Alaskan Natives, to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.
The projects funded by these awards will directly connect more than 4,399 unserved Native American households that previously had no connectivity to high-speed Internet as well as businesses and anchor institutions.
The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is a nearly $3 billion grant program and part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative. The funds are made available from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ($2 billion) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ($980 million).
Nearly $2 billion in funding was made available as part of the Notice of Funding Opportunity announced in June 2021. An additional Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1 billion in funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be announced in the coming months. NTIA held three Tribal Consultations with Tribal leaders to solicit their input on the upcoming NOFO.
Internet for All
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 high-speed Internet 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 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 AffordableConnectivity.gov to learn more.
For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet service programs as well as quotes from the awardees, please visit InternetforAll.gov.
| Applicant | Location | Project Type | Funding Amount | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe | MN | Broadband Infrastructure Deployment | $18,797,452.00 | The Broadband Infrastructure Deployment project proposes to install fiber and fixed wireless to directly connect 4,399 unserved Native American households with qualifying broadband service (fiber to the home service up to 100/40 Gbps and wireless service up to 80/20 Mbps). |
| Department of Hawaiian Homelands | HI | Broadband Use and Adoption Planning, Engineering, Feasibility, and Sustainability |
$17,284,762.85 | The dual Broadband Use and Adoption and Planning, Engineering, Feasibility, and Sustainability Studies project will assist rural areas with high concentrations of Native Hawaiians in developing programs and resources to address technology gaps and build capacity to use broadband services. This project is expected to enable broadband adoption activities, including telehealth, distance learning, telework, and digital literacy. Additionally, DHHL will conduct a planning study in support of future broadband infrastructure deployment projects. This study will collect data on the availability and efficiency of current services, build an engineering plan for future infrastructure construction, increase collaboration from relevant stakeholders, and ultimately propose a sustainable, hybrid network design broadband infrastructure project. |