Federal Agencies Release Memorandum of Understanding
The agreement was signed in May and creates uniform formats across agencies for broadband grant programs.
Michael D. Melero
July 25, 2024 – The Federal Communications Commission released the Memorandum of Understanding that it signed with several federal agencies to manage broadband funding on Tuesday.
The MOU, signed and dated May 9, outlines that the covered agencies will work together to create uniform formats, standards, protocols, and reporting processes for efficiently collecting covered data; share information on funded broadband projects; make post-award project data public; and maintain the confidentiality of private information.
Even so, the MOU includes Whistleblower Protections that shall not prohibit or restrict employees or applicants from disclosing information to Congress, the Special Counsel, the Inspector General of an agency or any other agency component responsible for investigation, in accordance with laws and regulations.
The agreement includes the Department of Agriculture, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the Department of Treasury. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson, and Chief Program Officer Jessica Milano signed the MOU for its approval.
Federal broadband grant program administration is split between agencies: the FCC runs the Affordable Connectivity Program; NTIA the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program; RUS runs the ReConnect program; and the Treasury is allocating dollars for the Capital Projects Fund.
The nature of the grants represents a possibility that programs will intercept and disrupt one another.
In response to a threat that programs might intercept and disrupt one another, agencies arranged a memorandum of understanding in May 2022. This made the FCC, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Treasury agree to share information and collaborate on the collection and reporting of data related to broadband deployment.
The voluntary MOU ensures that there remains an active dialogue between the agencies, said Joseph Wender, director of the Capital Projects Fund at the U.S. Treasury, at a 2023 Broadband Communities event. The deeply technical conversations that agencies are currently participating in are a testament to the improvement that has been made in the agencies’ communication, he added.
