It was gratifying and a bit of a relief to see Congress come together to approve the consolidated COVID emergency response and 2021 government funding legislation, which contains several NTCA advocacy priorities, including:
- $3.2 billion for low-income families to access broadband;
- $2 billion to fund the “Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act,” otherwise known as the “rip and replace” program;
- $1 billion for a tribal broadband fund;
- $300 million for a rural broadband grant program;
- $250 million for the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program;
- $98 million for the national broadband map;
- $635 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect Pilot Program;
- $690 million for USDA’s Rural Telecommunications Loan Program;
- $11.869 million for USDA’s Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program;
- $35 million for USDA’s Community Connect Grant Program;
- $60 million for USDA’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants Program;
- $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), with provisions that allow businesses that initially received PPP loans and had them forgiven to deduct eligible expenses on their income taxes, permits certain small business to apply for a second round of funding, reserves funding for “very small” businesses and make 501(c)(6) organizations eligible for the program.
The measure also extends the Coronavirus Relief Fund until the end of 2021 and includes the Broadband Interagency Coordination Act of 2019, a bill NTCA endorsed that seeks to coordinate broadband programs across federal agencies. This extension and coordination will give the CARES Act broadband projects the best opportunity to be completed appropriately. Just would have been nice for those in the middle of those builds to have had a little bit more heads up as some broadband providers in states where funding was supported would have spent more time in December being able to be strategic instead of scurrying around trying to figure out how they were going to complete their projects in a 10 day period. However, better late than never!
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how important it is to have access to robust, affordable, and reliable voice and broadband services. NTCA member providers have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to keep rural Americans connected at faster speeds than ever before and to connect many more with creative efforts to deploy networks rapidly and help customers install their own internet safely. Our members have also set up Wi-fi hotspots outside hospitals, libraries and community centers and worked with schools to make sure students and families have the connectivity and equipment necessary for virtual learning.
On behalf of NTCA and our members, I want to thank policymakers for supporting these efforts through critical resources that will help advance and sustain access to the best possible communications services. In particular, we are pleased to see funding for broadband mapping efforts, which will help us better identify where service is and is not needed, as well as support for funds that will help smaller providers replace equipment as needed to address communications supply chain security. We look forward to working to help more Americans get and stay connected through the programs funded by this measure, the many other initiatives already underway, and the close coordination of such efforts across agencies.
Feels like an early holiday present for those who have been waiting for connectivity. That is merry news indeed.