Treasury Department Expects Majority of Capital Projects Funds Will Be Spent on Fiber
“We have put our thumb on the scale for fiber,” said Joseph Wender, director the Treasury Department’s broadband fund.
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2022 – The director of the Department of Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund for broadband expansion projects in response to the coronavirus pandemic said Wednesday that most dispensed funds will ultimately go towards fiber-optic broadband projects.
The Capital Projects Fund was established from the reserve of $10 billion dedicated to capital projects enabling work, education and health monitoring when President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act was passed last March.
Recently, questions have arisen surrounding whether Treasury’s 2026 deadline for ARPA funds to be disbursed provides enough time for all projects to receive their necessary federal funding.
Chip Pickering (top) and Joseph Wender
Fund director Joseph Wender spoke on how what type of technology he thinks broadband funds from the program will be directed towards, during a conversation with Chip Pickering, CEO of internet and competitive networks association INCOMPAS.
Wender stated that the Treasury is encouraging that fund broadband projects be built with fiber because it is a future-proof technology.
“We have put our thumb on the scale for fiber,” said Wender.
He also stated that working to implement broadband projects using project funds represents an opportunity for governors and state governments to score political wins.
Wender encouraged members of INCOMPAS listening to his conversation with Pickering to be engaged with their state legislatures in the disbursement of project funds and to make sure that not only the most powerful telecom companies have their interests represented by actions of the legislature.
He also confirmed that when entities apply for money from the Capital Projects Fund they do not need to specify the projects they plan to use the money for on their application, and that the Treasury is in constant communication with the Federal Communications Commission as well as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in order to coordinate data necessary to determine where funds should be disbursed.
