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Regional Update on federal grants focused on national, state and community broadband and internet connectivity
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently announced $930 million in funding for middle-mile broadband. The 35 projects encompass 350 counties distributed across 35 states, including Puerto Rico. The allocation of $930 million in federal funds accounts for approximately fifty percent of the total project costs, estimated at $1,778,482 billion. The NTIA also announced $42.45 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funding allocations to states and territories to increase access to affordable high-speed internet. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also recently announced funding for its Rural Development ReConnect programs to serve rural community economic development projects around broadband and connectivity.
State allocations and awardees of these grants located in Southwest TRC’s region are highlighted below:
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NTIA Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program
Pima County Regional Middle Mile Fiber Optic Ring
$43,283,954 total cost of project
$30,281,277 federal funding request
Purpose: The purpose of the Pima County Regional Middle Mile Fiber Optic Ring is to ensure that affordable, reliable, and accessible high-speed broadband services can be provided to as many communities, county and local facilities, anchor institutions and recreational areas as possible. The proposed project will create a 134-mile contiguous open access fiber network ring. The infrastructure will be made available to all viable internet service providers (ISPs) and other government entities to lease, share or swap resources. This future proof design has the capacity to accommodate expansive growth in the region. The network is designed in a ring surrounding the outer area of greater Tucson, Arizona and surrounding rural communities. The proposed middle mile network path connects to four Central Office facilities. These four Tier 1 connections provide a link to the backbone of the public internet with physical interconnections for the exchange of traffic. The proposed middle mile infrastructure will reduce the cost for last mile providers to connect unserved and underserved communities by providing a neutral network that last mile providers can access in a non-discriminatory open access model.
NTIA BEAD Program: $993,112,231
USDA Rural Development ReConnect Grants
South Central Utah Telephone Association Inc.
$3,485,976
This Rural Development investment will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the premises network to provide high-speed internet. This network will benefit 24 people and one farm in Coconino County in Arizona. South Central Utah Telephone Association Inc. will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (FCCs-ACP).
Colorado River Indian Tribes
$25,000,000
This Rural Development investment will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the premises network to provide high-speed internet. This network will benefit 1,946 people, 41 businesses, three farms and four educational facilities in La Paz County in Arizona. Colorado River Indian Tribes will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the FCCs-ACP. This project will serve the Colorado River Indian Reservation and socially vulnerable communities in La Paz County. |
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NTIA Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program
Pueblo Middle Mile Project
$4,631,407 total cost of project
$2,710,971 federal funding request
Purpose: The purpose of the Pueblo Middle Mile Project is to fund 78,129 feet of aerial and 29,173 feet of underground fiber to provide a protected ring from the Pueblo datacenter to six remote Colorado cabinets. This will lead to a last mile project that will connect 41,074 homes and small businesses. The double ring network created in this project will prevent single points of failure across the proposed broadband network.
NTIA BEAD Program: $826,522,650 |
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NTIA Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program
Eastern Nevada Middle Mile fiber network
$87,094,919 cost of project
$43,547,459 federal funding request
Purpose: The proposed Eastern Nevada Middle Mile fiber network, a 431-mile open-access middle-mile fiber optic network running north to south along US 93, is intended to improve regional network redundancy and resiliency for networks that serve last-mile residential areas, the government and anchor institutions by completing a statewide fiber ring. Operated on a non-discriminatory basis, the network will support interconnections with any provider seeking access to deliver last-mile broadband services.
NTIA BEAD Program: $416,666,230 |
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New Mexico NTIA BEAD Program: $675,372,312
USDA Rural Development ReConnect Loan and Grant Combination
$21,665,524 Grant
$21,665,524 Loan
Panhandle Telephone Cooperative Inc.
Purpose: This Rural Development investment will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the premises network to provide high-speed internet. This network will benefit 1,284 people, 36 businesses, 696 farms and three educational facilities in Beaver and Cimarron counties in Oklahoma and Union County in New Mexico. Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc. will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the FCCs-ACP and Lifeline Programs. |
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