County

The newly released Virginia proposed Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant rules highlight an issue that was included in the original grant rules. The BEAD program gives significant power to local governments through local letters of support.

123NET and Allegan County (MI) have been awarded a $65 million project to construct an open-access, carrier-neutral fiber network. This county-wide broadband project will begin construction in mid-August 2023. The Allegan County Board of Commissioners and 123NET established a public-private partnership earlier in 2023 and applied for the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) grant together.

A $10.3 million public-private partnership between Chattooga County (GA) and fiber provider Windstream will provide broadband access to 3,400 addresses in the county. Key communities covered by the agreement, which will feature 320 miles of fiber cable, are Summerville, Trion, Lyerly, and Menlo. The partnership includes $3.1 million from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Windstream will invest $7.2 million and cover cost overruns. Work on the project is expected to be completed in 2024.

Lumos launched a new fiber-optic broadband network in Orange County, North Carolina.  The previously announced partnership between Lumos and Orange County remains one of the largest public-private partnerships for fiber infrastructure in North Carolina’s history. It was made possible by significant investments from Lumos and an Orange County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund award and will reach more than 6,300 unserved homes in the County. Lumos has also committed millions more to increase the scope of the project, enabling it to serve an additional 22,000 addresses.

Partnering with counties is an asset for electric co-operatives seeking capital for the matching requirement in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, said an expert. Darren Farnan, chief operating officer of rural electric co-op United Fiber. He said that Missouri counties used Capital Project Fund (CPF) and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) money to help with the co-op’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) application. Counties have the same goal as co-ops to connect every address to high-speed internet, said Farnan.

When it comes to connecting residents to broadband, counties need to speak up with detailed information about their unserved and underserved areas and work closely with their state broadband directors to get their fair share of federal dollars. “Get involved — go to your state broadband director – get to know them,” said Luis Acuña, Southwest regional director for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). “They can weave your needs into their plan.

FOCUS Broadband has completed work to bring fiber optic high-speed internet to rural communities near Magnolia, Rose Hill, and Teachey (NC). These projects were made possible through two grants totaling more than $2.5 million dollars awarded in 2020 through North Carolina's Growing Rural Economies through Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant Program as well as the Special Supplementary Round of the GREAT Grant Program. FOCUS Broadband contributed more than $1 million dollars in matching funds to bring service to these rural areas in Duplin County.

Some 8,200 homes, businesses and schools in unserved and underserved parts of Lumpkin County (GA) will, for the first time, be eligible for high-speed fiber internet. The $20.4 million project, to provide fiber broadband to Dahlonega and throughout the county, is expected to be completed in 2024. It is a result of a public–private partnership between the county and Kinetic. The county will use about $6.9 million in state grant money from the federal government.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a critical component of the nationwide effort to bridge the digital divide. Established on a bipartisan basis by Congress, the ACP provides subsidies that enable low-income households to get – and stay connected – with monthly broadband subscriptions. Despite its success in reaching over 35% of eligible households, the ACP faces a funding shortfall by 2024.

Verizon won broadband funding from two Pennsylvania counties recently. Verizon Vice President of Business Operations for Wireline Networks Doug Sullivan offered details about the wins, which are for areas where the company has begun deploying its Fios fiber broadband service. The Pennsylvania awards were for Washington and Westmoreland counties.