Massachusetts Seeks Support Services In Preparation for Federal Infrastructure Funds

October 31, 2022 – Massachusetts is seeking “a range of planning services and technical assistance” to assist the state in the development of its digital equity and five-year action plans in compliance with federal guidelines for the Digital Equity Act and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment programs, respectively.

Representatives from the Massachusetts Broadband Institute briefed the public on the state’s request for proposals, issued October 18, and fielded questions at a webinar held Monday morning. Services requested by the RFP include “plan development,” “statewide community digital needs assessment,” identification of “barriers to the successful implementation of the BEAD program,” and “digital equity/broadband visioning and unified objective development.”

The RFP also solicits support services for community engagement initiatives and a broadband and digital equity working group, which will bolster the Bay State’s DEA and BEAD-related programming, said Josh Eichen, program manager for partnerships at MBI.

Applications are due mid-November, MBI said, and awards will likely be announced by early December.

The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 allocated $65 billion to broadband infrastructure and related projects, the bulk of which – $42.5 billion – Congress gave to the BEAD program. Funds from the BEAD program and the DEA, another IIJA initiative, are granted to the states, which subsequently disperse those funds to individual projects.

In addition to BEAD and DEA-funded projects, Massachusetts has several other broadband initiatives: a digital equity fund, a soon-to-be-released state broadband map, and a “gap networks” program that channels funds from Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund, said Michael Baldino, director of the MBI.