The first $10 million of $268 million in grant funding to build broadband at the nation’s minority-serving institutions of higher learning have been officially announced.
Among the initial recipients is the Tsaile, Arizona-based Dine College, which is receiving $2.9 million for classroom technology upgrades; and the Tohono O’odham Community College, which is based in Sells, Arizona, with just over $1.9 million for a community technology hub upgrade.
The funding is coming through the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and is designed to pay for internet access as well as equipment.
In announcing the funding opportunity, Don Graves, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, said the country’s “minority-serving colleges and universities are bedrock learning centers that have too often been left behind when it comes to accessing affordable high-speed internet.”
The newly established Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, which is also aimed at supporting new broadband projects at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, will “enable these institutions to be a resource for access and digital skills training,” added Graves, while also offering workforce development programs for both students and the larger community.
There have, to date, been applications for grant funding from more than 200 minority-serving institutions of higher learning.
Funding for the program is coming through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which altogether is providing some $65 billion for the development of high-speed internet access across the country.
According to a Commerce Department press release, additional awards through the program are expected to be announced “on a rolling basis,” as they go through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s review process.
By Garry Boulard
