The state of Kansas is making $30 million available for broadband deployments. The funding will come from the state’s Lasting Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (LINC) program.
The news came in a press release last week from Kansas Governor Laura Kelly.
According to the release: “Entities eligible to apply for the LINC program include internet service providers, political subdivisions, tribal governments, cooperatives, and non-profit organizations. Projects in higher-cost, rural areas are eligible for greater public matches to encourage providers to build out otherwise financially unviable areas.”
Three types of awards will be made, including:
- Broadband infrastructure deployments supporting a minimum of 100/20 Mbps speeds.
- Internet Exchange Point facilities
- Middle Mile infrastructure
The total budget for the broadband infrastructure projects is $20-$25 million. The internet exchange point and middle mile projects have a shared budget of $5-$10 million.
A scoring system will be used to make decisions about which projects should receive funding.
The LINC program will be administered by the Kansas Office of Broadband Development, which is part of the state’s commerce department. An application portal is available at this link.
According to the program guidelines, applications are due June 19.
The LINC program received funding through the U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund, which made funding available for all states that could be used for a variety of infrastructure projects, including broadband.
The state of Kansas was awarded $83.5 million for broadband deployments in the program, representing 58% of the state’s total Capital Projects Fund allotment.
This isn’t the first broadband funding program that the state of Kansas has offered.
A previous Kansas Capital Projects Fund Broadband Infrastructure Program also awarded broadband deployment funding.
