Pew Finds 44 Varying State Broadband Grant Programs
Forty-four states had broadband deployment grant programs last fall, with 2021 appropriations ranging from $500,000 in Montana to $100 million in Iowa and Tennessee, Pew reported Monday. “Although many of these programs generally share a common focus on increasing availability…
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and subscription rates in communities without sufficient access, they vary across states regarding the amount of funding available, specific goals, speeds standards, eligibility, and required level of community engagement.” Grant programs usually support last-mile, though Colorado and Minnesota allow localities to use grants for middle-mile, Pew said. States prioritize unserved areas, which usually means places that don’t meet the federal definition of having at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, it said: Missouri, Florida and Oregon use 10/1 Mbps. Many states, including Illinois and Minnesota, allow funding for underserved areas, but “limited funding and the emphasis states place on unserved areas mean that grant funding often runs out before underserved areas can be considered,” Pew said. Most states are technology neutral, though Washington state eligibility rules exclude DSL and Indiana cuts out satellite, Pew found: Some states consider affordability and adoption. All states cap funding per project, with maximums ranging from $1 million in Kansas and Pennsylvania to $10 million in California, it said.