Guiding Governments through Broadband Funding Administration

In February 2022, Vernonburg Group produced a handbook for state and local government officials to guide them through understanding the myriad of funding programs and priorities to advance broadband access and availability. Recognizing the unprecedented moment of attention and resources dedicated to the digital divide, as well as the pressure to use those resources efficaciously, Vernonburg Group sought to support decision-makers with digestible, actionable, and evidence-based handbook and accompanying report.

The handbook details nine broadband funding principles and provides a step-by-step guide for fund administrators.

The accompanying report, Toward Effective Administration of State and Local Fixed Broadband Programs, is meant to serve as a straight-forward and comprehensive reference document for state, municipal, and local governments developing and implementing broadband availability and adoption programs.

The report is full of useful broadband availability and adoption data, an overview of available technologies, a summary of different federal funding sources, principles that underpin sound broadband programming, and a nine-step implementation path. State, municipal, and local governments should give appropriate weight to programs closing both availability and adoption gaps, with clear, aggressive, and achievable goals. By letting data guide funding decisions, ubiquitous broadband connectivity is within reach for all U.S. households.