Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be with all of you today, and I’m glad to see so many familiar faces.

As a former governor, I know that your jobs have been made exponentially harder by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic also made it painfully clear that reliable, high-speed internet is a necessity for everyday life.

Too many families can’t afford the cost of broadband service, and too many families live in areas where they can’t access high-speed internet.

Gaps in access mean gaps in opportunity:  fewer opportunities to learn and work from home, remotely visit doctors, or stay connected with family and friends. 

Our economy cannot fully recover unless all Americans can fully participate.

This is why President Biden set an ambitious goal when he entered office: connecting every American through affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband.

Last year, Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes more than $42 billion in grants to states and territories focused on funding high-speed broadband deployment to households and businesses that currently lack access to these services.

The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will administer this funding.

You all are on the front lines of the fight to close the digital divide. You know where this money needs to go better than anyone.

States will soon have access to initial planning funds, which will help inform a five-year action plan.

We need you to start preparing for this program now. Think strategically about the best location for your broadband program within your government, including where you can leverage expertise and shared services such as grants management.

This is also a whole of government effort. I encourage you to build an infrastructure plan that incorporates not only the funding through NTIA, but all the sources of federal, state, and local funding.

These are historic investments. They should spur innovation and drive a marketplace with lower costs for higher speeds, to make your states globally competitive.

They’re also going require more workers in to build out the networks. This infrastructure should be built for the local communities, by the local communities. That will take workforce apprenticeships and job training programs, and participation from your community colleges, unions, and companies. 

I also want to reiterate that the solution to the digital divide is about much more than infrastructure.

That’s why the law includes nearly $3 billion in funding for the Digital Equity Act. Some that funding will used to promote digital inclusion and equity for communities that don’t have what they need to take advantage of broadband connections.

Earlier this month, we released a request for comment on many of the broadband programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Please make your voices heard so that we know what’s really happening on the ground as we design these programs.

In the coming weeks, we are committed to getting input from as many stakeholders as possible. We will continue to hold events and sessions like today to ensure that our programs fund solutions that stand the test of time.

I’m excited about the opportunity ahead of us.

If we work hard and work together, we will close the digital divide for good and strengthen our communities to ensure America’s competitiveness in the 21^st century.

And now, let me hand it over to the newly confirmed Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the NTIA, Alan Davidson.