Charles Krupa / AP
A router and internet switch are displayed in East Derry, N.H., June 19, 2018.
Monday, June 26, 2023 | 10:50 a.m.
Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, D-NV, left, and Jacky Rosen D-NV, right, talk during the launch of the 100-megawatt MGM Resorts Mega Solar Array Monday, June 28, 2021. The solar array facility will produce up to 90 percent of MGM Resorts Las Vegas daytime power.
Nevada is getting $416 million in federal funding to bolster access to broadband internet in rural and underserved areas of the state.
Democratic U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada have promoted efforts to redraw the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband map to more accurately reflect access to internet service providers in rural parts of the state, which they said was critical to Monday’s announcement.
The new version of the map identified nearly 27,000 new serviceable locations statewide, including nearly 7,000 new locations without high-speed internet access that were not previously included, according to Rosen’s office.
“Internet connectivity is essential for Nevadans’ daily lives, and I’ve made it one of my top priorities to ensure every household in our state has access to high-speed internet,” Rosen said in a statement.
The money is coming through the bipartisan infrastructure law for broadband access through the Broadband Equity, Access and Development grant program administered by the Telecommunications and Information Administration.
“All Nevadans deserve access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet, which is essential for work, education, telehealth and staying connected with loved ones,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
Earlier this month, Cortez Masto and Rosen announced Nevada received $43.5 million in federal funds to increase broadband access via the Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant program, a separate grant program established through the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Nevada has also received $55.2 million to connect about 40,000 Nevada households to high-speed internet with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“Broadband access is essential for Nevada’s economy and our communities,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “This funding will help us close the digital divide in the Silver State and create new opportunities for business owners, students and families.”
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., has also supported expanding broadband access. “I helped get these investments across the finish line, bringing our communities online, unlocking educational opportunity, and reaping economic benefits,” she said in a social media post.
The Biden Administration on Monday announced plans to distribute billions of dollars appropriated by Congress to deliver internet to every household and small business in the U.S.
Likening the push for universal connectivity to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, when the federal government installed the electric utility lines that brought light to the countryside all across the U.S., White House chief of staff Jeff Zients said access to high-speed internet is as imperative to day-to-day life as electricity.
“We all know how difficult life is when electricity goes down after a storm or for other reasons,” Zients said on a Friday call with reporters to preview the announcement. “For millions of Americans in rural communities in particular, the internet is down a lot. Sometimes there’s not even any access.”
The amount each state, territory and Washington, D.C., will receive from the $42.5 billion program depends primarily on the number of unserved locations in each jurisdiction or those locations that lack access to internet speeds of at least 25 megabits per second download and 3 Mbps upload.
Download speeds involve retrieving information from the internet, including streaming movies and TV. Upload speeds determine how fast information travels from a computer to the internet, like sending emails or publishing photos online.
More than 7% of the country falls in the underserved category, according to maps recently completed by the FCC to set the course for the massive undertaking.
Hinging the distribution of the nation’s largest-ever federal investment on FCC data has been somewhat controversial.
Members of Congress pressed FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about inaccuracies they said would negatively impact rural states’ allotments in particular, and state broadband officials were concerned about the short timeline to correct discrepancies in the first version of the map.
The second version of the map, which was released at the end of May and used for allotments, reflects the net addition of 1 million locations, updated data from internet service providers and the results of more than 3 million public challenges, Rosenworcel, who in the past has been a critic of how the FCC’s maps were developed, said in a May statement.
