NTIA reports $5.5B in Middle Mile requests, exceeding allocation by 5X

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) received 235 applications requesting $5.5 billion in funding for the Enabling Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant Program.  Applications were due by September 30th.

The Middle Mile grant program under the Biden administrations "Internet for All" initiative allocates $1 billion in funding to projects that connect high-speed Internet networks to each other and reduce the cost of bringing Internet service to communities that lack it. 

"Middle mile infrastructure is the connective tissue that links the networks that serve homes and businesses,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson. 

“NTIA’s Middle Mile Program is a force multiplier for connectivity and will be essential to delivering a cost-efficient Internet for All. The volume of applications we received demonstrates the high demand for increasing middle mile capacity throughout the country.”  

NTIA said it will evaluate the applications and make awards on a rolling basis no earlier than March 2023.

https://www.ntia.doc.gov/press-release/2022/more-235-applications-submitted-biden-harris-administration-s-internet-all-middle

U.S. kicks off $45B “Internet for All” Initiative 

Monday, May 16, 2022    

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo kicked off the Internet for All initiative, which will invest $45 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden earlier this year.The goal of the Internet for All initiative is to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed internet for everyone in America by the end of the decade. The initiative will be administered and implemented by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications...

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