Funds totaling about $20 billion delayed under the federal rural broadband internet program will be subject to new guidance “this summer,” the agency head overseeing the project said Tuesday.
National Telecommunications and Information Administration leader Arielle Roth gave lawmakers that timeline at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, where she was pressed about the agency’s commitment to make the funds available to states.
Roth also deferred specifics on the question of whether those funds will be held back from states that enact regulations on artificial intelligence, as directed by a presidential executive order.
After approving state and territory plans for broadband deployment under the $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, NTIA and the larger Commerce Department delayed guidance for the remaining billions in so-called non-deployment funds in March.
Questioned about the delay by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C., Roth said the agency was nearing release of its plans but did not set a date other than “this summer.”
