When the state of Kentucky made plans to award $300 million in ARPA funding for broadband deployments, the priority was on getting high-speed service to the neediest areas first. Telecompetitor talked to Meghan Sandfoss, executive director of Kentucky’s Office of Broadband Development, about how that approach may serve the state well as it makes plans to award nearly $1.1 billion in BEAD funding that the state was allocated.
“Our priority with the ARPA funding was reaching areas that had no service,” said Sandfoss, who came to the Kentucky broadband office as director two years ago after 18 years at a regional development organization.
The state awarded the $300 million in ARPA funding in two rounds. Projects that had locations lacking service at 10/1 Mbps speeds were given priority, and only locations lacking 25/3 Mbps service were eligible.
This approach likely addressed some of the costliest locations to serve, which should help BEAD dollars go farther.
The ARPA-funded program went by two names: the Broadband Deployment Program and the Better Internet Program.
Sandfoss is hopeful that the $1.1 billion will enable Kentucky to get broadband to all eligible locations and still have some money left over for non-deployment purposes. States with funds left over are allowed to use the excess funds for broadband adoption initiatives, connectivity for anchor institutions or local government facilities, or certain other purposes.
Sandfoss declined to forecast the percentage of eligible locations that would get fiber broadband, however. That, she said, will depend on how much service providers contribute in matching funds.
NTIA guidelines call for BEAD funds to cover no more than 75% of project costs, except in extenuating circumstances. But Sandfoss is hopeful that some service providers will contribute more than the required 25%.
“In an ideal world, we would do 100% fiber with high match participation from providers,” Sandfoss said.
At the other end of the spectrum, however, Sandfoss anticipates that service providers may need the state to cover more than 75% of project costs to get broadband to locations that are the costliest to serve. Kentucky’s mountainous terrain adds complexity and cost to the broadband deployment process, she noted.
“We may have to waive the match requirement in some areas,” Sandfoss said.
NTIA guidelines prioritize fiber but allow service providers to use other technologies for the highest-cost area, and as Sandfoss explained, the state is encouraging fixed wireless providers to participate in the BEAD program.
Kentucky Broadband Expansion Plans and Process
When Telecompetitor talked to Sandfoss in the second half of August, Kentucky service providers were in the process of applying to pre-qualify to bid for BEAD funding. The deadline is coming soon, and the state broadband office then will know which providers want to participate in the program.
The state is planning to award BEAD funding in a single round but has the option of doing a second round, Sandfoss said. Service providers will place bids by census block groups (CBGs) or groups of CBGs. The state opted to use CBGs to define project areas because “they’re not too big and not too small,” Sandfoss said.
In making the decision to define project areas in that manner, Sandfoss said the state determined that the number of eligible locations in a CBG is about the same as it was for the smallest projects that were proposed in the Broadband Deployment Program/Better Internet Program.
Sandfoss is hopeful that Kentucky will begin accepting applications for BEAD Program broadband funding in November, with deployments beginning in late 2025 or early 2026.
Until then, the broadband office is still making awards through a state-funded pole replacement program. Poles must be replaced if they are undersized or too old.
The program has a budget of $20 million, some of which will go to pole owners for technician training. The goal is to have plenty of skilled people to handle the increased number of pole replacements expected.
Broadband providers, who must pay to replace poles, can apply for funding to cover 50% of the costs up to $5,000.
The Kentucky broadband office currently has a five-person staff, and Sandfoss is in the process of additional hiring.
“We have a really talented team working on this program,” Sandfoss said. “We have team members with many years under their belt working with other federal programs.”
More information about Kentucky broadband, including links to state funding resources, awards made, state specific Telecompetitor coverage and more can be found on Telecompetitor’s Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
