As the Internet continues to become more relevant and essential to our daily lives, it’s increasingly critical to ensure that telecommunications infrastructure is reliable, secure, and capable of meeting the demand. Paired with the rapid pace of technological advancement and the digital transformation of more and more industries and sectors, the world is facing a pressing need for a skilled workforce who can meet the demands of the 21st century economy.

That’s where workforce development comes in.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has worked with the Census Bureau to gather and analyze federal data to identify the “covered populations” defined by the Digital Equity Act. The Digital Equity Act Population Viewer enables users to locate and understand where these populations are concentrated, at both the state and local levels.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, provides $42.45 billion in funding to states, territories and the District of Columbia for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. NTIA issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on May 13, 2022 describing the program’s requirements.