Don’t Let Money Stand in Your Way

Funding & Grant Programs

Get the financial assistance you need to connect your community.

Government Funding to Deploy Your Network

Secure the financial support you need to deploy the network that’s right for you. Below is a list of government grants and loan programs that are available to help rural and underserved communities get connected. Research and explore these valuable funding resources to ensure you have the resources you need to launch the network that’s right for you.

Broadband USA funding grants

Broadband Infrastructure Program

A $288 million broadband deployment program directed to partnerships between a state, or one or more political subdivisions of a state, and providers of fixed broadband service to support broadband infrastructure deployment to areas lacking broadband, especially rural areas.

Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program

A $980 million program directed to tribal governments to be used for broadband deployment on tribal lands, as well as for telehealth, distance learning, broadband affordability, and digital inclusion.

Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program

A $268 million grant program directed to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) for the purchase of broadband internet access service and eligible equipment or to hire and train information technology personnel.

Federal Clearinghouse

BroadbandUSA’s Federal Funding site connects you to funding opportunities that support broadband planning, digital inclusion, and deployment projects. The site allows you to filter programs by Agency/Department, Eligible Recipients, and/or Program Purpose by using the filter options on the left.  Currently 10 pages of various programs giving the history of Broadband programs over last several years.  This site is filterable and searchable and is update to have Federal and State flow-through grant programs – current and past.  This will also have programs that may be returning for both state and federal programs.

 

USDA Grants

By helping private and non-profit providers secure the necessary financing, this program helps maintain a seamless nationwide telecommunications network that also provides access to broadband for education, healthcare, public safety and jobs for all Americans regardless of where they live.  For questions about the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program, please call the Loan Origination and Approval Division at (202) 720-0800.  Before you begin an application, please confirm you have the most current information by contacting a General Field Representative.

 

Tribal Funding

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce has a new Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program to provide Internet and related services to tribal lands and members. Application submissions must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on January 23, 2024

BEAD Program

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(Webinar: https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/June-1-Webinar-Presentation.pdf)

Department of the Treasury funding grants

 

Capital Projects Fund

The Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (Capital Projects Fund) will address many challenges laid bare by the pandemic, especially in rural America, Tribal communities, and low- and moderate-income communities, helping to ensure that all communities have access to the high-quality modern infrastructure, including broadband, needed to access critical services.

Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN)

ROBIN is a high-speed internet last mile and middle mile infrastructure competitive grant program with $238M in project funds from the US Treasury as part of the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. ROBIN provides funds to internet service providers and public-private partnerships for the expansion of broadband infrastructure to unserved areas.

 

Affordable Connectivity Program

The Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more.  The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

Illinios Department of Commerce funding grants

Connect Illinois Broadband Expansion

​The Connect Illinois broadband investment represents an integral and strategic component of the comprehensive 2019 Rebuild Illinois infrastructure program and the state’s five-year economic plan. With $400 million appropriated for competitive broadband grants, Connect Illinois constitutes the largest state broadband matching grant program ever, and it provides the magnitude of funding needed for state-driven broadband ubiquity – and lasting broadband equity.

Internet For All funding grants

Internet for All

​States and territories across the nation have Signed On to the Internet For All Initiative and committed to connecting their communities to reliable high-speed Internet for less through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment and State Digital Equity Planning Grant Programs. These programs will provide more than $48 billion for infrastructure deployment, skills training and access to technologies essential for Americans to connect with their communities, their democracy, and one another.

E-rate Filling 470

​This is the standard e-rate filing system that occurs every year about this time to allow Schools and Libraries to have Internet services at discount.  The Managed Internal Broadband Services (MIBS) – TrilogyNextGen development of network – can be requested as Cat#1 service.  This will allow schools and libraries to seek to build their own networks using Trilogy wired/wireless systems to develop network for these organizations.

Ford Foundation

​Digital communications technologies have transformed how we connect and engage with the world around us, creating opportunities in every area of contemporary life. But as often as these technologies are used to foster learning and promote justice, they have also been used in ways that amplify inequality. Too many people—particularly those who have historically been excluded or marginalized—aren’t able to access, benefit from, or influence digital platforms. The governance and use of technology are implicated in nearly all the drivers of inequality, underscoring the extent of this problem.

Fluent in Connectivity

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