NTIA launched the Minority Broadband Initiatives (MBI) in 2018 in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to work on solving broadband deployment challenges in vulnerable communities. In August 2021, NTIA established the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives to codify NTIA’s work on the MBI. The OMBI, established within the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, fulfills requirements of the Connecting Minority Communities provisions enacted into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

The OMBI will continue NTIA’s efforts to collaborate with federal agencies; state, local and tribal governments; Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions; and any interested stakeholders to promote initiatives related to expanding connectivity and digital opportunities for anchor communities.