The NTIA reports…

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced today preliminary data that shows over 235 applications were submitted totaling more than $5.5 billion in funding requests for the Enabling Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant Program, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to investing in affordable high-speed Internet for all.

Included in President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative, the Middle Mile grant program provides $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. …

Applications for the Middle Mile program were due by September 30, 2022. NTIA will evaluate the applications and make awards on a rolling basis no earlier than March 2023.

It’s daunting to think that $1 billion has been approved and $5.5 billion has been requested. It reminds us that while a lot of federal funding is going to be investing in broadband, it may not be enough to reach all areas. Communities should be getting ready.