§ 1702. Grants for broadband deployment

§ 1702. Grants for broadband deployment

(a) Definitions

(1) Areas, locations, and institutions lacking broadband access In this section:

(A) Unserved location The term “unserved location” means a broadband-serviceable location, as determined in accordance with the broadband DATA maps, that—

(i) has no access to broadband service; or

(ii) lacks access to reliable broadband service offered with—

(I) a speed of not less than—

(aa) 25 megabits per second for downloads; and

(bb) 3 megabits per second for uploads; and

(II) a latency sufficient to support real-time, interactive applications.

(B) Unserved service project The term “unserved service project” means a project in which not less than 80 percent of broadband-serviceable locations served by the project are unserved locations.

(C) Underserved location The term “underserved location” means a location—

(i) that is not an unserved location; and

(ii) as determined in accordance with the broadband DATA maps, lacks access to reliable broadband service offered with—

(I) a speed of not less than—

(aa) 100 megabits per second for downloads; and

(bb) 20 megabits per second for uploads; and

(II) a latency sufficient to support real-time, interactive applications.

(D) Underserved service project The term “underserved service project” means a project in which not less than 80 percent of broadband-serviceable locations served by the project are unserved locations or underserved locations.

(E) Eligible community anchor institution The term “eligible community anchor institution” means a community anchor institution that lacks access to gigabit-level broadband service.

(2) Other definitions In this section:

(A) Assistant Secretary The term “Assistant Secretary” means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.

(B) Broadband; broadband service The term “broadband” or “broadband service” has the meaning given the term “broadband internet access service” in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.

(C) Broadband DATA maps The term “broadband DATA maps” means the maps created under section 802(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)).

(D) Commission The term “Commission” means the Federal Communications Commission.

(E) Community anchor institution The term “community anchor institution” means an entity such as a school, library, health clinic, health center, hospital or other medical provider, public safety entity, institution of higher education, public housing organization, or community support organization that facilitates greater use of broadband service by vulnerable populations, including low-income individuals, unemployed individuals, and aged individuals.

(F) Eligible entity The term “eligible entity” means a State.

(G) High-cost area

(i) In general The term “high-cost area” means an unserved area in which the cost of building out broadband service is higher, as compared with the average cost of building out broadband service in unserved areas in the United States (as determined by the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Commission), incorporating factors that include—

(I) the remote location of the area;

(II) the lack of population density of the area;

(III) the unique topography of the area;

(IV) a high rate of poverty in the area; or

(V) any other factor identified by the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, that contributes to the higher cost of deploying broadband service in the area.

(ii) Unserved area For purposes of clause (i), the term “unserved area” means an area in which not less than 80 percent of broadband-serviceable locations are unserved locations.

(H) Location; broadband-serviceable location The terms “location” and “broadband-serviceable location” have the meanings given those terms by the Commission under rules and guidance that are in effect, as of November 15, 2021.

(I) Priority broadband project The term “priority broadband project” means a project designed to—

(i) provide broadband service that meets speed, latency, reliability, consistency in quality of service, and related criteria as the Assistant Secretary shall determine; and

(ii) ensure that the network built by the project can easily scale speeds over time to—

(I) meet the evolving connectivity needs of households and businesses; and

(II) support the deployment of 5G, successor wireless technologies, and other advanced services.

(J) Program The term “Program” means the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program established under subsection (b)(1).

(K) Project The term “project” means an undertaking by a subgrantee under this section to construct and deploy infrastructure for the provision of broadband service.

(L) Reliable broadband service The term “reliable broadband service” means broadband service that meets performance criteria for service availability, adaptability to changing end-user requirements, length of serviceable life, or other criteria, other than upload and download speeds, as determined by the Assistant Secretary in coordination with the Commission.

(M) State The term “State” has the meaning given the term in section 942 of this title, except that that definition shall be applied by striking “, and any other territory or possession of the United States”.

(N) Subgrantee The term “subgrantee” means an entity that receives grant funds from an eligible entity to carry out activities under subsection (f).

(b) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program

(1) Establishment Not later than 180 days after November 15, 2021, the Assistant Secretary shall establish a grant program, to be known as the “Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program”, under which the Assistant Secretary makes grants to eligible entities, in accordance with this section, to bridge the digital divide.

(2) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Secretary to carry out the Program $42,450,000,000.

(3) Obligation timeline The Assistant Secretary shall obligate all amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (2) in an expedient manner after the Assistant Secretary issues the notice of funding opportunity under subsection (e)(1).

(4) Technical support and assistance

(A) Program assistance As part of the Program, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, shall provide technical support and assistance to eligible entities to facilitate their participation in the Program, including by assisting eligible entities with—

(i) the development of grant applications under the Program;

(ii) the development of plans and procedures for distribution of funds under the Program; and

(iii) other technical support as determined by the Assistant Secretary.

(B) General assistance The Assistant Secretary shall provide technical and other assistance to eligible entities—

(i) to support the expansion of broadband, with priority for—

(I) expansion in rural areas; and

(II) eligible entities that consistently rank below most other eligible entities with respect to broadband access and deployment; and

(ii) regarding cybersecurity resources and programs available through Federal agencies, including the Election Assistance Commission, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

(c) Allocation

(1) Allocation for high-cost areas

(A) In general On or after the date on which the broadband DATA maps are made public, the Assistant Secretary shall allocate to eligible entities, in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 10 percent of the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (b)(2).

(B) Formula The Assistant Secretary shall calculate the amount allocated to an eligible entity under subparagraph (A) by—

(i) dividing the number of unserved locations in high-cost areas in the eligible entity by the total number of unserved locations in high-cost areas in the United States; and

(ii) multiplying the quotient obtained under clause (i) by the amount made available under subparagraph (A).

(2) Minimum initial allocation Of the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (b)(2)—

(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, $100,000,000 shall be allocated to each State; and

(B) $100,000,000 shall be allocated to, and divided equally among, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(3) Allocation of remaining amounts

(A) In general On or after the date on which the broadband DATA maps are made public, of the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (b)(2), the Assistant Secretary shall allocate to eligible entities, in accordance with subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the amount remaining after compliance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection.

(B) Allocation The amount allocated to an eligible entity under subparagraph (B) shall be calculated by—

(i) dividing the number of unserved locations in the eligible entity by the total number of unserved locations in the United States; and

(ii) multiplying the quotient obtained under clause (i) by the amount made available under subparagraph (A).

(4) Availability conditioned on approval of applications The availability of amounts allocated under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) to an eligible entity shall be subject to approval by the Assistant Secretary of the letter of intent, initial proposal, or final proposal of the eligible entity, as applicable, under subsection (e).

(5) Contingency procedures

(A) Definition In this paragraph, the term “covered application” means a letter of intent, initial proposal, or final proposal under this section.

(B) Political subdivisions and consortia

(i) Application failures The Assistant Secretary, in carrying out the Program, shall provide that if an eligible entity fails to submit a covered application by the applicable deadline, or a covered application submitted by an eligible entity is not approved by the applicable deadline, a political subdivision or consortium of political subdivisions of the eligible entity may submit the applicable type of covered application in place of the eligible entity.

(ii) Treatment of political subdivision or consortium as eligible entity In the case of a political subdivision or consortium of political subdivisions that submits a covered application under clause (i) that is approved by the Assistant Secretary—

(I) except as provided in subclause (II) of this clause, any reference in this section to an eligible entity shall be deemed to refer to the political subdivision or consortium; and

(II) any reference in this section to an eligible entity in a geographic sense shall be deemed to refer to the eligible entity in whose place the political subdivision or consortium submitted the covered application.

(C) Reallocation to other eligible entities

(i) Application failures The Assistant Secretary, in carrying out the Program, shall provide that if an eligible entity fails to submit a covered application by the applicable deadline, or a covered application submitted by an eligible entity is not approved by the applicable deadline, as provided in subparagraph (A)), and no political subdivision or consortium of political subdivisions of the eligible entity submits a covered application by the applicable deadline, or no covered application submitted by such a political subdivision or consortium is approved by the applicable deadline, as provided in subparagraph (B), the Assistant Secretary—

(I) shall reallocate the amounts that would have been available to the eligible entity pursuant to that type of covered application to other eligible entities that submitted that type of covered application by the applicable deadline; and

(II) shall reallocate the amounts described in subclause (I) of this clause in accordance with the formula under paragraph (3).

(ii) Failure to use full allocation The Assistant Secretary, in carrying out the Program, shall provide that if an eligible entity fails to use the full amount allocated to the eligible entity under this subsection by the applicable deadline, the Assistant Secretary—

(I) shall reallocate the unused amounts to other eligible entities with approved final proposals; and

(II) shall reallocate the amounts described in subclause (I) in accordance with the formula under paragraph (3).

(d) Administrative expenses

(1) Assistant Secretary The Assistant Secretary may use not more than 2 percent of amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (b) for administrative purposes.

(2) Eligible entities

(A) Pre-deployment planning An eligible entity may use not more than 5 percent of the amount allocated to the eligible entity under subsection (c)(2) for the planning and pre-deployment activities under subsection (e)(1)(C).

(B) Administration An eligible entity may use not more than 2 percent of the grant amounts made available to the eligible entity under subsection (e) for expenses relating (directly or indirectly) to administration of the grant.

(e) Implementation

(1) Initial Program deployment and planning

(A) Notice of funding opportunity; process Not later than 180 days after November 15, 2021, the Assistant Secretary shall—

(i) issue a notice of funding opportunity for the Program that—

(I) notifies eligible entities of—

(aa) the establishment of the Program; and

(bb) the amount of the minimum initial allocation to each eligible entity under subsection (c)(2);

(II) invites eligible entities to submit letters of intent under subparagraph (B) in order to—

(aa) participate in the Program; and

(bb) receive funding for planning and pre-deployment activities under subparagraph (C);

(III) contains details about the Program, including an outline of the requirements for—

(aa) applications for grants under the Program, which shall consist of letters of intent, initial proposals, and final proposals; and

(bb) allowed uses of grant amounts awarded under this section, as provided in subsection (f); and

(IV) includes any other information determined relevant by the Assistant Secretary;

(ii) establish a process, in accordance with subparagraph (C), through which to provide funding to eligible entities for planning and pre-deployment activities;

(iii) develop and make public a standard online application form that an eligible entity may use to submit an initial proposal and final proposal for the grant amounts allocated to the eligible entity under subsection (c);

(iv) publish a template—

(I) initial proposal that complies with paragraph (3)(A); and

(II) final proposal that complies with paragraph (4)(A); and

(v) in consultation with the Commission, establish standards for how an eligible entity shall assess the capabilities and capacities of a prospective subgrantee under subsection (g)(2)(A).

(B) Letter of intent

(i) In general An eligible entity that wishes to participate in the Program shall file a letter of intent to participate in the Program consistent with this subparagraph.

(ii) Form and contents The Assistant Secretary may establish the form and contents required for a letter of intent under this subparagraph, which contents may include—

(I) details of—

(aa) the existing broadband program or office of the eligible entity, including—

(AA) activities that the program or office currently conducts;

(BB) the number of rounds of broadband deployment grants that the eligible entity has awarded, if applicable;

(CC) whether the eligible entity has an eligible entity-wide plan and goal for availability of broadband, and any relevant deadlines, as applicable; and

(DD) the amount of funding that the eligible entity has available for broadband deployment or other broadband-related activities, including data collection and local planning, and the sources of that funding, including whether the funds are from the eligible entity or from the Federal Government under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117–2);

(bb) the number of full-time employees and part-time employees of the eligible entity who will assist in administering amounts received under the Program and the duties assigned to those employees;

(cc) relevant contracted support; and

(dd) the goals of the eligible entity for the use of amounts received under the Program, the process that the eligible entity will use to distribute those amounts to subgrantees, the timeline for awarding subgrants, and oversight and reporting requirements that the eligible entity will impose on subgrantees;

(II) the identification of known barriers or challenges to developing and administering a program to administer grants received under the Program, if applicable;

(III) the identification of the additional capacity needed by the eligible entity to implement the requirements under this section, such as—

(aa) enhancing the capacity of the broadband program or office of the eligible entity by receiving technical assistance from Federal entities or other partners, hiring additional employees, or obtaining support from contracted entities; or

(bb) acquiring additional programmatic information or data, such as through surveys or asset inventories;

(IV) an explanation of how the needs described in subclause (III) were identified and how funds may be used to address those needs, including target areas;

(V) details of any relevant partners, such as organizations that may inform broadband deployment and adoption planning; and

(VI) any other information determined relevant by the Assistant Secretary.

(C) Planning funds

(i) In general The Assistant Secretary shall establish a process through which an eligible entity, in submitting a letter of intent under subparagraph (B), may request access to not more than 5 percent of the amount allocated to the eligible entity under subsection (c)(2) for use consistent with this subparagraph.

(ii) Funding availability If the Assistant Secretary approves a request from an eligible entity under clause (i), the Assistant Secretary shall make available to the eligible entity an amount, as determined appropriate by the Assistant Secretary, that is not more than 5 percent of the amount allocated to the eligible entity under subsection (c)(2).

(iii) Eligible use The Assistant Secretary shall determine the allowable uses of amounts made available under clause (ii), which may include—

(I) research and data collection, including initial identification of unserved locations and underserved locations;

(II) the development of a preliminary budget for pre-planning activities;

(III) publications, outreach, and communications support;

(IV) providing technical assistance, including through workshops and events;

(V) training for employees of the broadband program or office of the eligible entity or employees of political subdivisions of the eligible entity, and related staffing capacity or consulting or contracted support; and