On May 10, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the launch of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to provide $350 billion in emergency funding for eligible state, local, territorial and Tribal governments. Funding may be used to make necessary investments that provide unserved or underserved locations with new or expanded broadband access. Broadband infrastructure investments should:
- Focus on households and businesses without access to broadband and those with connections that do not provide minimally acceptable speeds (defined as 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload)
- Fund projects that deliver reliable service with minimum 100 Mbps download / 100 Mbps upload speeds unless impracticable
- Complement broadband investments made through the Capital Projects Fund