Congresswoman Barbara Lee | Official U.S. House headshot
Congresswoman Barbara Lee | Official U.S. House headshot
WASHINGTON, DC—Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) on June 28 announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is allocating $1,864,136,508.93 in funds from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to help close the digital divide in California.
“Here in the East Bay, access to high-speed internet is a matter of racial justice, economic opportunity, and equity for all,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “High-speed internet service is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. It is essential to pursue a better education, access healthcare and social services, and increase civic participation. This historic investment offers new resources to ensure that residents, community organizations, and small businesses in our district have accessible, affordable, and high-speed Internet, and that no person is left behind.”
These substantial investments will help ensure that Broadband for All becomes a reality for Californians to achieve the goals of the Broadband for All Action Plan, outlined by Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-73-20 and the California Broadband Council. This funding builds off a $6 billion investment from the 2021 California state budget and will help ensure that unserved and underserved areas of the state will receive high-speed Internet coverage.
The BEAD program is the federal government’s largest and most ambitious investment in high-speed, affordable broadband in history. The $42.45 billion dollar program will provide federal funding in the form of grants to eligible states, territories, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico for broadband planning, development, mapping, equity, and adoption projects and activities by the program’s conclusion and will create upwards of 150,000 good-paying jobs laying fiber optic cable and building out networks. The program was created through President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, in 2021, which Congresswoman Lee voted in favor of.
Original source can be found here
Alerts Sign-up