Two states – Florida and Texas — recently announced new broadband infrastructure funding opportunities. A funding program announced last month for a third state—Georgia — will begin accepting applications soon.
And two other states extended deadlines for application windows that are currently open.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has begun accepting applications in a $247 million funding round announced last week in the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Program. Network operators have until April 14 to apply for funding.
On Monday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced that $120 million would be made available for broadband deployments in the state through the Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT) program. A notice of funding availability (NOFA) was issued the same day. According to the NOFA, funding applications will be accepted between April 3 and May 5.
In a third funding opportunity, the filing window for the second round of the Georgia Capital Projects Fund Grant Program, announced in mid-February, will open March 13 and close April 21.
Florida Funding
Funding for the Florida Broadband Infrastructure Program came through the U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund. Each state was allotted funding that it could use for a variety of infrastructure investment options.
The state previously announced $144 million in awards in the broadband program, which has a budget of $400 million.
Texas Funding
The Texas funding announced this week is the state’s “first competitive broadband grant program focused on last mile connectivity: connecting end users to high-speed internet,” a press release explains.
The state has been awarded $363.8 million for broadband through the U.S. Treasury Capital Projects Fund. That was 73% of the total capital projects funding allotted to the state.
The news about the Texas funding availability came the same day that legislation was introduced in the state house of representatives to make $5 billion more available for broadband deployments.
Extended Deadline
The states that extended deadlines for filing broadband funding applications are Michigan and New Mexico.
Applications for funding in Michigan’s Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) Program are now due on March 14.
Applications for funding in New Mexico’s Connect New Mexico program reportedly are now due April 3.
Like the Florida, Texas, and Georgia programs, the programs in Michigan and New Mexico are funded through the federal Capital Projects Fund (CPF).
All projects funded through the federal CPF are required to support symmetrical 100 Mbps speeds, except in extenuating circumstances.
