As used in this part—

Anchor Community means any area that—

(1) Except as provided in the definition of Certain Tribal Colleges or Universities below, is not more than 15 miles from a historically Black college or university, a Tribal College or University, or a Minority-serving institution; and

(2) Has an estimated median annual household income (based on U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data) of not more than 250 percent of the poverty line, as that term is defined in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)). NTIA will use data from the most recent time period for which both household income and poverty line data are available.

Certain Tribal Colleges or Universities means, with respect to a Tribal College or University that is located on land held in trust by the United States, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, may establish a different maximum distance for the purposes of designating an anchor community if the Assistant Secretary is able to ensure that, in establishing that different maximum distance, each anchor community that is established as a result of that action is statistically comparable to other anchor communities described in the definition of Anchor Community in this section. After consultation with the Secretary of the Interior and review of the relevant statistical data, the Assistant Secretary has determined that, for TCUs located on land held in trust by the United States that are also located within a reservation, the boundary of the reservation on which the TCU falls will be substituted for the 15-mile buffer to create an Area of Interest (AOI) for each institution. These AOIs will be used to define the institution's anchor community boundary.

Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Broadband internet access service has the meaning given the term in 47 CFR 8.1(b), or any successor regulation.

Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.

Connected device means a laptop computer, tablet computer, or similar device that can connect to broadband internet access service.

Director means the Director of the Office.

Eligible equipment means—

(1) A Wi-Fi hotspot;

(2) A modem;

(3) A router;

(4) A device that combines a modem and router;

(5) A connected device; or

(6) Any other equipment used to provide access to broadband internet access service.

Eligible recipient means—

(1) A historically Black college or university;

(2) A Tribal College or University;

(3) A Minority-serving institution; or

(4) A consortium that is led by a historically Black college or university, a Tribal College or University, or a Minority-serving institution and that also includes—

(i) A Minority Business Enterprise; or

(ii) An organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code.

Historically Black college or university has the meaning given the term “part B institution” in section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061).

Minority-serving institution means any of the following:

(1) An Alaska Native-serving institution, as that term is defined in section 317(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)).

(2) A Native Hawaiian-serving institution, as that term is defined in section 317(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)).

(3) A Hispanic-serving institution, as that term is defined in section 502(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)).

(4) A Predominantly Black institution, as that term is defined in section 371(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c)).

(5) An Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution, as that term is defined in section 320(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059g(b)).

(6) A Native American-serving, non-Tribal institution, as that term is defined in section 319(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059f(b)).

Minority Business Enterprise has the meaning given the term in 15 CFR 1400.2, or any successor regulation.

Office means the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives established pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, Title IX, section 902(b)(1).

Tribal College or University has the meaning given the term in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)).

Wi-Fi means a wireless networking protocol based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard 802.11, or any successor standard.

Wi-Fi hotspot means a device that is capable of—

(1) Receiving broadband internet access service; and

(2) Sharing broadband internet access service with another device through the use of Wi-Fi.