What Can the IIJA Do for Your Internet?

As you may have heard, Congress has appropriated $65 billion for broadband projects within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Of that, $42 billion is being dedicated to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Under the BEAD Program, Maine and every other state will receive at least $100 million to use for broadband projects in unserved (areas without 25/3 Mbps speeds) and underserved areas (those with below 100/20 Mbps speeds). The remaining $37 billion will be distributed among the states based on their share of the nation’s unserved areas. Overall, Maine should expect a significant influx of funding for broadband expansion projects over the next five years. These funds may be utilized by the State or distributed to municipalities through a grant-making program, presumably administered by the newly established Maine Connectivity Authority.

So, what does this mean for municipalities? Notably, the IIJA makes it possible for recipients to fund an eligible broadband project without spending a dime of their own funds. The BEAD Program requires recipients to pay for at least 25% of any project but allows them to use CARES Act and ARPA funding to do so. As a result, municipalities will no longer need to dedicate a significant portion of their coronavirus relief funds to broadband expansion. This should provide significant motivation for communities that may have been hesitant to undertake broadband expansion to reconsider.

Additionally, the IIJA will reduce the overall cost of and increase the potential locations for broadband expansion projects. The IIJA appropriates $1 billion for the aptly named Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure (EMMBI) Program. The EMMBI Program funds the expansion and extension of middle mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of connecting unserved and underserved areas. Previously, one of the largest obstacles to any broadband project was finding a way to connect to the internet backbone from more remote locations. ARPA discouraged recipients from investing in middle-mile infrastructure and instead favored the use of relief funds for last-mile projects. The goal was to connect as many people as possible to existing broadband infrastructure as quickly as possible. However, that prevented many more remote recipients from investing in fully wired broadband expansion or required them to invest in wireless or gap network projects. The EMMBI Program will, hopefully, allow Maine to extend critical broadband infrastructure into new areas, reducing the cost of local broadband projects and opening up new areas for future-proof wireline broadband projects.

Though the timeline is not yet fixed, the NTIA will begin notifying states of their share of BEAD Program and other funding this spring. Once those funds are received, Maine will be able to begin the process of distributing them through a grant-making process. To capitalize on this opportunity, municipalities should start developing realistic and competitive broadband project proposals as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.

Please contact us if you have any questions on the IIJA or other broadband funding opportunities to expand broadband access in your community.