The Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) has announced that $25 million in grant funding is available for its Building the Texas Broadband Workforce Grant Program, and bidding has opened.
The program is designed to cultivate and develop a workforce that can build, maintain, and expand a statewide fiber-based broadband network.
It’s all part of a $1.5 billion Broadband Infrastructure Fund, which Texas voters approved through Proposition 8 in 2023. The funds were approved for emergency communication upgrades, utility pole replacements, and matching funds for the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
A wide variety of Texas organizations can apply for the broadband workforce development grants, including small businesses, governments, nonprofit organizations, charter schools, institutions of higher education, hospitals, libraries, law enforcement organizations, and more.
To apply for the new workforce-based funding, organizations will have to prove they can “establish and expand tuition-free, industry-aligned training programs statewide.”
Institutions are encouraged to offer industry-recognized credentials, micro-credentials, and postsecondary degrees, and may incorporate on-the-job training, including registered apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and paid work experiences.
Once trained, the new workforce will be prepared to participate in public fiber broadband initiatives at the state and federal levels and will be ready for future private projects, according to the Texas BDO.
The bidding is competitive and may be awarded to just one institution. However, the NOFA expects to make five awards.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) published the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the program on June 23, and applicants have until June 30 at 2 p.m. to ask questions about the program. Then, they have until July 31 at 2 p.m. to submit applications. Awardees will be notified by October 1.
Last year, an expert with the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) predicted that at least 180,000 professionals would need to be trained within five years to meet the nation’s broadband needs.
Deborah Kish, Vice President, Research and Workforce Development for the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), advocated for training the workforce right away, before BEAD funding had been allocated. A delay could mean missed deadlines, she said.
That tracks with the Texas plan to train a broadband workforce now, before the state’s $3.3 billion in BEAD funding is awarded.
Additional information about Texas broadband, including links to state funding resources, BEAD news, state-specific Telecompetitor news coverage, and more can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
