Telecom Alert: Biden Nominates Anna Gomez to FCC; ACP Outreach Grants Available; TCBP Grants; ECF Funding [Vol. XX, Issue 22]

Biden Nominates Anna Gomez to FCC

Last week, President Joseph Biden nominated Anna Gomez for the open FCC Commissioner seat after Gigi Sohn withdrew her nomination earlier this year. Ms. Gomez is the Senior Advisor for International Information and Communications Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and previously served in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as well as the FCC.  Prior to joining the State Department, Ms. Gomez held various roles in private practice.  If confirmed, Ms. Gomez’ seat would run through June 2026.  For more information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).

ACP Outreach Grants Available

Last week, the FCC announced the availability of additional outreach grant opportunities to promote the Affordable Connectivity Program (“ACP”) (Vol. XX, Issue 11).  The outreach grants seek to enlist targeted trusted community messengers to develop innovative outreach strategies to reach historically unserved and underserved communities.  The Commission is issuing two Notices of Funding Opportunity for up to $10 million, targeting $5 million for the National Competitive Outreach Program (“NCOP”) and $5 million for the Tribal Competitive Outreach Program (“TCOP”).  Eligible NCOP applicants must submit applications by 6:00 p.m. on June 30, 2023, and eligible TCOP applications must submit applications by 6:00 p.m. on July 28, 2023.  For more information, please contact Sean Stokes (stokes@khlaw.com; 202.434.4344).

$4.5 Million in TCBP Grants

Last week, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) announced the award of nine grants totaling $4.5 million through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (the “Program”).  These grants will go to nine tribes in Alaska, California, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Texas.  To date, the Program has awarded over $1.77 billion to 166 Tribal entities.  For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186).

ECF Funding

The FCC announced that it is committing over $12 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program (the “Program”).  The commitment will support applications from the third application window and will support approximately 35,000 students in states including Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington.  To date, the Program has provided support to roughly 11,000 schools, 1,000 libraries, and 120 consortia.  For more information, please contact Casey Lide (lide@khlaw.com; 202.434.4186).
 

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