INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s initial application for its $868 million share of a national “Internet for All” program has won approval, federal officials announced Monday in a joint call with Hoosier officials.
The initiative was dubbed the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program and was created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. President Joe Biden’s administration has called the $42 billion program the largest internet funding announcement in history.
“The internet is now the essential tool for communications in our modern world, and yet here we are in 2024 and there are still thousands and thousands of homes across Indiana … where you cannot get good, high speed, reliable internet service,” said Alan Davidson, leader of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
The approval “unlocks” Indiana’s share of the funding, Indiana Chief Broadband Officer Steve Cox told reporters.
“We’re ready to get busy,” Gov. Eric Holcomb added.
A challenge process — in which Hoosiers and internet service providers can challenge or defend an area’s classification as unserved or underserved — ends July 15. Indiana’s broadband service map will change, Cox said, once the state submits its findings to the NTIA and wins approval.
Read more of the Leslie Bonilla Muñiz story for the Indiana Capital Chronicle, here.
