Louisiana dedicates millions in federal funding to broadband

Louisiana is ahead of most states in its efforts to improve internet access and usage according to Jon Wilkins, a consultant and former chief operating officer for the Federal Communications Commission. By dedicating money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to provide broadband infrastructure in rural areas, Louisiana will have a chance to tackle other aspects of the problem sooner, he says. “Louisiana is easily in the top five in terms of the amount of money and how aggressively and creatively they’re using it,” Wilkins says. “There are a lot of states that haven’t done anything.” Louisiana is one of about a dozen states dedicating Rescue Plan money to broadband. Louisiana’s Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities program will provide $177 million to support broadband projects; recipients of the first $90 million are scheduled to be announced in March 2022. A much bigger pot of money is expected to be available through the recently passed federal infrastructure bill. Every state will get at least $100 million, and Louisiana could be in line for as much as $1 billion or more to improve access, promote affordability and improve digital literacy, says Veneeth Iyengar, who leads the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development & Creativity.  “I think this is a once-in-a-century opportunity,” says Wilkins. “There’s not going to be another $50 billion program in five years.”