State and territory broadband offices have dramatically increased in size over the past year as they deploy billions of dollars in economic recovery funds and start to manage a historic federal investment in broadband expansion. With money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), these offices now have sufficient funding to cover everything from infrastructure deployment to digital literacy.

The decisions that leaders make on how to increase their internal capacities and organize their offices will play a significant role in closing the digital divide and shape their ability to continue the momentum beyond this current cycle of investment.

In 2020, more than half of all states operated broadband offices, though many were staffed by only one or two employees. Today, every state and territory has formally designated an office or agency to serve as the primary broadband entity, responsible for coordinating efforts to expand access to high-speed internet.

Although new federal programs provide funding for the administrative costs of state broadband offices, these initiatives often have specific statutory limitations set by their establishing legislation in each jurisdiction on the number of full-time employees they can have. That said, the number of postings for state broadband offices has steadily increased as lawmakers are authorizing new jobs in their budgets and federal programs begin to disburse administrative funds.

Pew’s broadband access initiative has been tracking public job postings for state and territory broadband offices and identified 68 such postings across 29 states from September 2021 through September 2022. This data provides a sample of positions posted over this period rather than an exhaustive catalog of every new state broadband office job and does not include consultants or contractor positions.

The analysis found that states that established their broadband offices within the past year account for the bulk of recent job postings, with hiring focused on key positions such as office directors and administrators. At the same time, already operating offices have increased capacity in more specific roles or posted for positions in response to turnover.

Although job titles and specific duties may differ across states, Pew sorted positions into three primary categories—broadband office director, program specialists, and office administration. The program specialist positions include subcategories such as jobs in community engagement, digital equity, geographic information systems (GIS), grants, legal, and a generalist group for positions that cross multiple areas.

Read the full article and view data researched by Anna Read, Jake Varn, and Lily Gong of The Pew Charitable Trusts by visiting: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2022/11/15/with-new-funding-state-broadband-offices-boost-hiring-efforts