WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Biden administration announced it has allocated over $40 billion in funding to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories in an effort to deploy affordable and reliable high-speed internet to everyone in America.
The “Internet for All” initiative, a key component of President Joe Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda, is an effort to keep all Americans connected. States, D.C. and territories will receive funding from the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program from Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to administer grant programs within their borders, according to the press release.
“What this announcement means for people across the country is that if you don’t have access to quality, affordable high-speed internet now – you will, thanks to President Biden and his commitment to investing in America,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
The hope of the initiative is to supply all of America with reliable, affordable high-speed internet by 2030, the administration said.
States, D.C. and territories will use the funding to build or upgrade internet networks across the U.S., and remaining funds will be used on broadband adoption, training and workforce development efforts, the administration said.
According to the White House fact sheet, more than 8.5 million Americans live in areas where there is no high-speed internet infrastructure.
The White House provided a breakdown of funds per state and highlighted the states that received the highest allocation, including Texas with $3.3 billion and California with $1.86 billion in funding. A full list of state-by-state high-speed internet funding can be found here.
The amount each state, territory and Washington, D.C., will receive from the program depends primarily on the number of unserved locations in each jurisdiction or those locations that lack access to internet speeds of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 Mbps upload.
Download speeds involve retrieving information from the internet, including streaming movies and TV.
Upload speeds determine how fast information travels from a computer to the internet, like sending emails or publishing photos online.
More than 7% of the country falls under the underserved category, according to maps recently completed by the Federal Communications Commission to set the course for the massive undertaking
Congress approved BEAD, along with several other internet expansion initiatives, through the infrastructure bill the Democratic president signed in 2021.
Earlier this month, the Commerce Department announced winners of middle mile grants, which will fund projects that build the midsection of the infrastructure necessary to extend internet access to every corner of the country.
States will have until the end of the year to submit initial proposals outlining how they plan to use the money, which won’t begin to be distributed until those plans are approved. Once the Commerce Department signs off on those plans, states can begin awarding grants to telecommunications companies, electric cooperatives and other broadband providers to build infrastructure that links homes and small businesses to the internet.
The announcement of the largest internet funding initiative kicks off a three-week “Investing in America” tour, where Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be joined by other administration officials across the country to highlight the Biden administration’s economic agenda.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
