President Biden has signed the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) into law, which among other funding programs, will allocate $65 billion for broadband initiatives. The bulk of the broadband funding will go towards a $42.45 billion competitive grant program for qualifying infrastructure, mapping, and adoption projects, dubbed the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. There is also $1 billion in funding for middle mile projects, $2.75 billion for digital equity programs, and $14.2 billion to extend the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, now referred to as the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Congress and the Biden Administration still continue to work on passing Biden’s social spending package, the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), which includes some broadband-related initiatives. A vote on the legislation is expected soon.
