The U.S. Virgin Islands will soon start the process of identifying homes and businesses that lack a high-speed internet connection and are therefore eligible for grants from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. This public process allows for eligible challengers to ensure that their state accurately reflects who does and does not have internet access in the state.
The BEAD program is part of the federal government’s ‘Internet for All’ initiative that aims to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed internet service. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which administers this grant program, allocated over $27 million to the territory to reach this goal.
The state will use this funding to make grant awards to internet service providers, cooperatives and others who bid to build or upgrade internet networks.
A bit more about the challenge process along with a few links are below. Please reach out to the State Broadband Office for more information on when it will begin accepting challenges and how people can participate.
Helpful Links:
NTIA’s State Progress Dashboard:
https://internetforall.gov/bead-initial-proposal-progress-dashboard
About the Challenge Process:
The challenge process is a critical phase of the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. The process determines which locations and community anchor institutions in each state and territory are eligible to be served by BEAD-funded networks.
In this process, an eligible challenger (a unit of local government, nonprofit organization or internet service provider) may challenge a determination made by the state as to whether a particular location (home or business) or community anchor institution — such as schools or libraries — is served, underserved or unserved with high-speed internet service.
Note: Individuals are not eligible to submit a challenge; however. they can work with eligible challengers to provide information about the status of their home or small business.
