Subommittee addresses NTIA reauthorization, FCC broadband map ahead of BEAD Program funding allocations

As technological advancements continue to roll out at a breakneck pace, from artificial intelligence to high speed broadband connectivity, investment in digital infrastructure has become a defining theme of the modern era. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, (R-Wash.), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, stressed the importance of this charge in opening remarks at a hearing Tuesday about the reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees regulation of the nation’s telecommunications industry.

“These initiatives highlight just how much NTIA’s duties have changed since it was last reauthorized in 1993 and the need for Congress to reauthorize agencies whose authorization has lapsed,” McMorris Rodgers said, highlighting $42 billion in middle mile broadband funding that’s currently being overseen by the NTIA. It was made available through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

“Today’s hearing is just as much about oversight as it is about reauthorization,” Rodgers said, pivoting discussion to the status of the BEAD Program. “Millions of Americans still lack access to broadband services, despite our federal government spending tens of billions of dollars on broadband-related programs over the years.”

Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), chair of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, noted that Tuesday’s NTIA oversight hearing was the first since the agency published its notice of funding opportunity for the Bead Program.

“Getting these rules right is crucial, including technology neutrality, will ultimately determine whether all Americans are connected or if they will continue to be left on the wrong side of the digital divide,” he said.

The program, which to date represents the federal government’s most substantial investment in high-speed, affordable internet, was authorized under Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 as a funding source to construct broadband networks, offset internet service costs for lower-income households, and provide devices to those unable to afford them.

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