About BroadbandUSA
Broadband is an essential component of modern life and a requirement for economic growth, education, health care, and public safety. Maximizing broadband coverage and meaningful use is imperative for national and individual success.
In 1998, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) identified a “persisting ‘digital divide’” finding that despite the significant growth in computer ownership and usage, the “digital divide” between certain groups of Americans had increased between 1994 and 1997. Nearly 30 years later, the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG), an office within NTIA, is leading the charge to expand broadband connectivity and meaningful use across America through the BroadbandUSA program. BroadbandUSA promotes innovation and economic growth by supporting state, local, tribal governments, industry, and nonprofits with enhancing broadband connectivity and promoting digital opportunities.
Resources and information available through the BroadbandUSA website include information on our grant programs, listed below. For more on services provided by OICG and BroadbandUSA, please visit our FAQ page.
Our Grant Programs:
• Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD)
• The Digital Equity Act Programs (DE)
• The Middle Mile Program (Middle Mile)
• The Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP)
• The Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Grant Program (BIP)
• The Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC)
About NTIA
Located within the Department of Commerce, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is the Executive Branch agency principally responsible by law for advising the President on telecommunications and information policy issues.
To learn more about NTIA, visit NTIA.gov.
About OICG
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), committed $65 billion to bring affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service to everyone in America. The Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG), which is housed within the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), oversees the administration of $48.2 billion of this historic investment, as well as $1.7 billion in broadband programs funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). OICG fulfils other duties as outlined in the ACCESS BROADBAND Act, including connecting with communities that need access to high-speed Internet, promoting broadband access and adoption, and developing training and publications to promote strategies to expand broadband access and adoption in a variety of communities, among other legislatively mandated responsibilities.
OICG commits to providing digital opportunities and ensuring universal broadband access through four interconnected core pillars:
• Funding broadband infrastructure and digital opportunity efforts
• Leveraging data to make informed program management decisions
• Facilitating broad stakeholder coordination to enhance understanding beyond data
• Building the capacity of communities to actively shape their connected future
OICG prioritizes data-driven decision-making, employing resources to ensure federal broadband infrastructure grants benefit unserved and underserved areas, as directed by BIL. OICG furthers the deployment and use of broadband technology, which lays the groundwork for sustainable economic growth, improved education, public safety, health care, and the advancement of other national priorities.
To learn more about OICG, please read the 2023 OICG Annual Report.
About OMBI
Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives: NTIA established the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) within OICG, as directed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Through OMBI, NTIA directly addresses the lack of broadband access, connectivity, adoption and equity among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), and in their surrounding anchor communities in the United States.
The NTIA Minority Broadband Initiative is part of NTIA’s initiative to increase minority stakeholder engagement around solving broadband access challenges in vulnerable communities. In 2019, NTIA launched the MBI to ensure all Americans can participate in the digital economy. NTIA is working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), in recognition of their role as anchor institutions in many communities, and their potential to become “hubs” for broadband deployment, use, and application.
To learn more about OMBI read the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives FY2023 Annual Report.