NTIA Releases Proposed Service Areas Of Broadband Infrastructure Program Applications – Providers May Submit Challenges By October 19th

October 4, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has released the proposed service areas of all applications for funding through NTIA’s Broadband Infrastructure Program. Broadband service providers now have 15 days to submit challenge information about existing broadband services offered in any of the proposed service areas.

Challengers can download an excel spreadsheet showing each applicant and their proposed service areas, census blocks, and State or Territory associated with each application. Instructions for submitting challenges is also available online.

NTIA received over 230 applications seeking more than $2.5 billion in funding across 49 states and territories for its Broadband Infrastructure Program. NTIA will award BIP grants to “covered partnerships” for “covered broadband projects.” Covered partnership means a partnership between: (1) a State, or one or more political subdivisions of a State; and (2) a provider of fixed broadband service. Covered broadband project means a competitively and technologically neutral project for the deployment of fixed broadband service that provides qualifying broadband service (25/3 Mbps and low latency) in an eligible service area. The term eligible service area means a census block in which broadband service is not available at one or more households or businesses in the census block.

NTIA expects the award process will be highly competitive. Funding priority will be given to applications with proposed broadband projects that: (1) are designed to provide broadband service to the greatest number of households in an eligible service area; (2) will provide broadband service to rural areas (an eligible service area that is wholly within any area other than: (i) a county, city, or town that has a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants; and (ii) the urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town of more than 50,000 inhabitants); (3) are the most cost-effective, prioritizing such projects in areas that are the most rural; and (4) are designed to provide broadband service with speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps.

NTIA expects to complete its selection of award by November 15, 2021, and begin announcing winners no earlier than November 29, 2021.