For Immediate Release
December 12, 2022
Press Contact
NTIA, Office of Public Affairs, (202) 482-7002, [email protected]
WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Alabama received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Alabama is receiving $5,981,081.12 in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state.
"Equitable access to high-speed Internet is crucial for education, work, and access to healthcare," said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. "I appreciate Governor Ivey's dedication to ensuring access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service to everyone in Alabama."
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson announced the grants today alongside Gov. Kay Ivey at the Montgomery County Commission Chamber in Montgomery, Alabama.
“I’m pleased to see more miles of broadband will be laid in rural Alabama,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04). “I have made expanding rural broadband a priority and I want to see Alabama be one of the most connected states in America.”
All 50 U.S. states and six territories applied for planning grant funding for the Internet for All initiative's Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program and the Digital Equity Act program. Grant awards for all 56 eligible entities will be announced on a rolling basis.
About Alabama’s Planning Grants
Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program
The BEAD Program provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed Internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs.
Alabama will receive $5 million to fund various activities including:
- Identifying unserved and underserved locations;
- Planning and capacity-building of the Alabama's broadband office;
- Conducting surveys of unserved, underserved, and underrepresented communities to better understand barriers to high-speed Internet service adoption;
- Creating a more holistic representation of Alabama's barriers to broadband adoption.
Digital Equity
The Digital Equity Act provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy. The first part of NTIA’s execution of the Digital Equity Act is to fund digital equity planning efforts.
Alabama will receive $981,081.12 to fund various activities including:
- Creation of a State Digital Equity Plan;
- Outreach, meetings and listening sessions with stakeholders, organizations and representative of communities disconnected from high-speed Internet service;
- Analysis of the impact of digital equity on Alabama's outcomes for economic development, education, health, civic and social engagement, and delivery of essential services.
Internet for All
President Biden’s 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 (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 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.