UTC Broadband Workshop Highlights NTIA Associate Administrator
A key federal official used last week’s UTC Broadband Workshop to tout the numerous broadband programs available to utilities that are providing internet connectivity services to their customers.
In a keynote address, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Associate Administrator Doug Kinkoph discussed several steps his agency has taken to improve coordination between federal agencies and remove barriers to broadband funding opportunities.
“This summer, NTIA, and our federal partners released a report detailing the progress we’ve made under the American Broadband Initiative,” he said. “This initiative, which we call ABI, was created to improve coordination between federal agencies, reduce red tape, and eliminate barriers to network buildout. Our Progress Report included updates on the 60 commitments made by Executive Branch agencies as part of the ABI. I’m proud to say that NTIA was able to deliver on 100% of our commitments.”
One of these commitments, he said, was turning NTIA’s BroadbandUSE web portal into a one-stop-shop for federal broadband information. “We now have a searchable database of federal funding opportunities, an overview on permitting, and a collection of data about state broadband coordinators, programs, and grant opportunities,” he said.”
In addition, NTIA launched an initiative to work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities as these entities became key resources in promoting broadband expansion to all Americans.
This effort “seeks to increase HBCU leadership participation in relevant broadband organizations and federal agency committees, enhance outreach and participation in federal agency broadband programs, and ensure their inclusion in the broadband deployment stakeholder ecosystems and grant opportunities,” Associate Administrator Kinkoph said.
Associate Administrator Kinkoph’s remarks were featured in the widely read TR Daily publication.
