Fact Sheet: NTIA Issues Press Release Announcing Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Reforms

The National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) issued a new press release on November 12, 2025 announcing reforms to the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP), a federal grant program first announced by the NTIA in 2021. The press release introduces program updates that the NTIA explains are intended to “reduce red tape for Tribal governments, promote flexibility, and align NTIA’s grant opportunities to better serve Tribal connectivity” by streamlining two funding sources: unobligated TBCP funds and the Digital Equity Act Tribal set-aside. A detailed overview of these reforms will be published in a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) set to be released Spring 2026. 

Background

Congress allocated $3 billion to the TBCP: $1 billion in the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act and an additional $2 billion in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The program was created following the COVID-19 pandemic “to improve the quality of life, spur economic development and commercial activity, create opportunities for remote employment and online entrepreneurship, remote learning, and telehealth by expanding broadband access and providing digital training and inclusion programs to Native American communities.” The NTIA issued its first NOFO in June 2021 and awarded approximately $1.7 billion of that total to 223 broadband infrastructure deployment and adoption and use projects across Tribal lands. It issued a second NOFO in July 2023 for the remaining program funds, and in December 2024 it announced nearly $300 million in additional awards to second round applicants. 

Congress also enacted the Digital Equity Act in 2021 in recognition that “broadband connection and digital literacy are increasingly critical to how individuals . . . participate in the society, economy, and civic institutions of the United States . . . [and] access health care and essential services, obtain education, and build careers.” It appropriated $2.75 billion to establish three separate digital equity grant programs, and named Tribal Nations as eligible entities. In the days leading up to the 2025 presidential inauguration, the NTIA recommended 65 projects in 46 states and territories for funding from the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program (24 organizations on January 6, and 41 on January 17). However, in May 2025, President Trump called the Digital Equity Act “unconstitutional,” describing it as providing financial support to communities based on race and vowing to end it “immediately.” Entities slated to receive Digital Equity Act funding reported receiving award termination notices from the NTIA in May 2025. A nonprofit organization is challenging these termination notices in federal court, arguing that the NTIA remains obligated to distribute Digital Equity Act funding unless and until those funds have been formally rescinded by Congress.

Press Release Highlights

The press release follows a recent letter submitted to NTIA leadership by Senator Maria Cantwell [D-WA], Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Senator Brian Schatz [D-HI], Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, highlighting what they refer to as long-term delays in distributing TBCP round two funds to the awardees announced in December 2024, and in obligating the roughly $1 billion in remaining TBCP funds. The Senators called for answers, and the press release clarifies that the TBCP round two awards announced in December 2024 remain obligated and will not be rescinded. However, the press release neither resolves the issue of when round two awardees can expect their funding to be distributed, nor does it otherwise address the Digital Equity Act or projects previously recommended for Digital Equity Act funding. 

Next Steps

Importantly, the press release notes that the NTIA plans to host a formal Tribal consultation session on its TBCP reforms, with a formal announcement to follow. Until information regarding the specific reforms the NTIA plans to implement is released, Tribal Nations interested in applying for unobligated TBCP funds, or who might have questions about how the NTIA will integrate Digital Equity Act funding into its TBCP reforms, can and should start preparing questions and comments that highlight the impact of previous federally-funded broadband projects, the continued need for digital investment in Tribal communities, and the federal government’s ongoing obligation to uphold its trust responsibility to Tribal Nations.