On March 31, 2021, NCC hosted a member briefing to discuss the Emergency Broadband Benefit (“EBB”) and upcoming funding opportunities for communities.
NCC Highlights. Lukas Pietrzak summarized NCC’s recent publications:
- Next Century Cities March 2021 Newsletter
- Report: Communities Responding to Natural Disasters Through Network Resilience
- Letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris
- NCC Steadily Increases Engagement With State Broadband Authorities
Emergency Broadband Benefit. Sign-up to be an EBB partner with the FCC here. The FCC also published Consumer Frequently Asked Questions. FCC guidelines and information for participating providers can be found here. The agency also published a presentation detailing instructions for participating providers here. On April 1st, the FCC published the list of EBB broadband providers which will be updated as more providers join.
Additional resources from Next Century Cities:
- Emergency Broadband Benefit Program: A Quick Look (Web Version)
- Emergency Broadband Benefit Program: A Quick Look (PDF Version)
- Emergency Broadband Benefit Explainer for Providers (Web Version)
- Emergency Broadband Benefit Explainer for Providers (PDF Version)
USAC Resources. The Universal Service Administrative Co., acts as an administrative arm of the FCC. It is responsible for implementing Universal Service Fund programs and the EBB. It published Household Emergency Broadband Benefit Eligibility Requirements. USAC is also hosting a series of webinars and trainings for consumers and providers.
Presentations from City of Baltimore and Seattle. Tia Price, Director, Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition, led EBB comments on behalf of community leaders in Baltimore and discussed the importance of the program for Baltimore residents. She shared Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition’s Presentation used to support community outreach. We also appreciated the remarks on local outreach strategies from David Keyes, City of Seattle’s Digital Equity Program Manager. The City of Seattle filed comments in the EBB proceeding with educational, housing, and state partners.
American Rescue Plan. Ryan Johnston discussed how the American Rescue Plan could support broadband in communities nationwide.
New NTIA Funding Programs. Corian Zacher described upcoming NTIA grant programs that will support state and municipal level broadband projects.
- NCC Web Post on NTIA Programs
- NTIA Broadband Grant Programs Presentation from Broadband USA
- NTIA Broadband Grant Program Webinar Schedule from Broadband USA
NCC members are invited to attend the next member briefing on April 29th at 2:00pm EST/11am PST.