Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program

Rep Addison McDowell (R-NC-06) introduced the Broadband Infrastructure Extension Act. This legislation would extend expenditure deadlines for certain broadband infrastructure projects funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The industry and the press have been laser-focused on Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment grants for the last few years. It’s easy to forget that there are a lot of federal broadband grants that have been issued under other grant programs, many of which are facing completion deadlines.

High-speed internet expansion is coming to fruition in Oklahoma. Two broadband expansion projects administered by the Oklahoma Broadband Office and funded through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund have officially closed out, bringing new high-speed internet access to residents and businesses in Washita and Greer (OK) counties. The projects, completed by Dobson Fiber, are delivering reliable, fiber-optic internet service to 366 locations in and around Burns Flat and Granite.

This week, the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama released a report, Broadband in Alabama’s Black Belt in 2025, that examines broadband infrastructure expansion efforts in Alabama's 24-county Black Belt region, an area characterized by persistent poverty and significant rural/urban divides. The authors set out to answer three specific questions about public investment, outcomes, and remaining connectivity gaps.

Kinetic and Thomas County (GA) announced the completion of a nearly $13.3 million fiber optic expansion project. The Thomas County project has been generously funded through a combination of more than $6.8 million from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund and a county match of $1.3 million. To complete the project, Kinetic invested $5.1 million of its own funds to bolster Thomas County’s digital infrastructure and ensure that residents have access to reliable, fast internet services.

Clallam County (WA) and Astound announced a partnership to bring high-speed fiber internet connectivity to a large unserved and underserved rural area of the county that generally extends along and parallel to the approximately 15-mile State Route 112 Highway corridor, beginning just west of Port Angeles. Once complete, the project will provide more than 1,500 homes with access to Astound’s fiber-to-the-home network, delivering symmetrical speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second. This $22.2 million partnership is backed by a combination of funding source.

Kinetic officially inaugurated Lake Sinclair and east Baldwin County’s (GA) high-speed fiber internet expansion, connecting over 700 households in the area. This $1.9 million transformative project represents a collaborative effort between state and local governments and Kinetic to enhance digital connectivity and bridge the digital divide in the region. The Baldwin County project has been generously funded through a combination of more than $920,000 from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund, and a county match of $151,000.

In an open letter, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. shared a summary of the progress the Biden-Harris administration made over the last four years. The focus of the letter is on economic recovery and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. A key tenet is President Biden's Investing in America agenda, which aimed to mobilize historic levels of  investments in the United States and revitalize U.S. infrastructure, including broadband internet access. Here is a look at President Biden's broadband accomplishments as he prepares to leave office.

Communities looking to leverage American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for broadband or other local infrastructure need to act soon or risk losing access to a once-in-a-generation funding resource. Most ARPA recipients seem well aware of the deadline, but data suggests more than a few communities could drop the ball. The Treasury Department tracks allotted ARPA awards and projected budget plans via a massive database.

On August 7, 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the third funding report showing fiscal year (FY) 2022 data reported by 13 agencies across 70 programs making investments in broadband.