Biden admin awards $147M to expand broadband access in Massachusetts

By SAM DRYSDALE

State House News Service

Published: 06-26-2023 4:21 PM

The federal government is sending $147 million Massachusetts’ way to expand high-speed internet in the state.

The funding is part of $42 billion in federal funds announced by President Joe Biden for broadband expansion across the country on Monday from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The money, which the administration plans to parcel out to states over the next two years, serves as the centerpiece of a vast and ambitious campaign to deliver reliable broadband to the entire country by 2030.

In Massachusetts, the funding will be deployed through a five-year plan that the Massachusetts Broadband Institute is developing with the Massachusetts Broadband and Digital Equity Working Group.

As part of that work, the institute is seeking input from residents about their barriers to internet access, affordability and adoption through a statewide Digital Equity survey. The institute’s plan to use the funds is due back to the federal government later this year.

The institute also will host a series of regional listening sessions to solicit direct feedback from across the state about digital equity needs and opportunities later this year.

“This new funding from the BEAD program will be a game changer for Massachusetts and the grant programs that will flow out of our statewide digital equity planning effort,” said Quentin Palfrey, the state’s director of federal funds and infrastructure. “This funding will continue Massachusetts’s legacy of leveraging federal investment to build an economy around innovation and learning by ensuring residents statewide can adopt the 21st century digital tools that many of us take for granted.”

Palfrey, whom Gov. Maura Healey tapped as her administration’s point person to compete for federal dollars, attended the announcement at the White House on Monday.

Since her election, Healey has spoken often about prioritizing federal funding opportunities, and has weaved matching funds for federal grants into spending bills.

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She signed a supplemental budget in March that directed $30 million to provide matching funds for federal funding for broadband infrastructure.

“With these funds, Massachusetts will build on ongoing work to ensure that our residents can access the affordable and reliable broadband service they need to work, learn, access health care resources, and connect with loved ones,” Healey said in a statement.

A full overview of the state’s ongoing engagement around broadband and digital equity programs can be found on the Massachusetts Broadband Institute website at https://broadband.masstech.org/internetforall.

The state’s U.S. senators, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, both commented on the distribution of the money.

“Too many families still lack access to reliable high-speed internet, and without it, Americans are shut out of a 21st-century economy and have limited access to life-saving services,” Warren said. “I’ve long fought for federal funding to expand broadband access in Massachusetts, and I’m thrilled that these funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will benefit communities across our Commonwealth.”

Markey said, “From the Berkshires to the Cape, this federal funding will help Massachusetts’s unserved and underserved households stay connected with loved ones, apply for jobs, and access health care and other online resources ... I will continue to push for big, bold investments in high-speed, reliable internet access so that our nation can finally close the digital divide.”

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