Iowa will receive $415 million intended to build out broadband access in the most underserved areas of the state, the White House announced Monday — more than the state has spend on the effort so far.
The money is coming from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law, which Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It is part of the national $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
The money will be rolled out through the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program, said Gloria Van Rees, spokesperson for the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer. To date, that program has directed more than $350 million to broadband grants using state and federal dollars.
Iowa officials have 180 days to submit an initial proposal that will detail the process the state will use to award the money, Van Rees said. Later this summer, the state will publish a five-5-year plan outlining its broadband goals, another requirement of the federal program.
The grants will go to projects targeting “unserved” and “underserved” locations and households. Unserved locations are defined as lacking access to at least 25 megabits download and 3 megabit upload speeds, while underserved locations lack at least 100 megabits download and 20 megabits upload speed.
Van Rees said Iowa broadband officials have been planning implementation of the program for the past year. Iowa received $5.7 million in planning funds to roll out the money in December 2022. That money was used to develop the plan to expand high-speed internet in the state and address broadband inequities.
“The additional BEAD funding announced today, combined with nearly $150 million in funds currently available, will further reduce broadband disparities and help to arrive at the goal of universal access in Iowa,” Van Rees said.
Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, was the only of Iowa’s current congressional delegation to vote for the infrastructure bill. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat who lost re-election in 2022, also voted for it.
Grassley applauded the broadband money and $43 million in federal transit funding for Iowa, which was also announced Monday, in a statement. More than half of Iowa’s share of the transit funding will go to Iowa City to expand its fleet of electric city buses and build a new transit facility.
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“Access to efficient broadband and transportation is critical to connecting people and positioning communities for long-term successes,” he said. “Today's infrastructure investments will kick start critical projects, particularly in rural parts of our state. They’ll improve learning opportunities for students and expand markets for small businesses, as well as enhance mobility throughout Iowa.”
Biden announced the funding Monday, kicking off an “Investing in America” tour of at least 20 states, in which Biden and his administration will highlight his infrastructure and economic accomplishments. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit Iowa to highlight efforts to improve access to food and create markets for farmers, according to the White House.
In a speech, Biden lauded the announcement as the biggest-ever investment in high-speed internet and set a goal of providing everyone in the country with affordable high-speed internet by 2030.
“With this funding, along with other federal investments, we’re going to be able to connect every person in America to reliable high-speed internet by 2030,” he said.
www.thegazette.com
The money is coming from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law, which Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It is part of the national $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
The money will be rolled out through the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program, said Gloria Van Rees, spokesperson for the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer. To date, that program has directed more than $350 million to broadband grants using state and federal dollars.
Iowa officials have 180 days to submit an initial proposal that will detail the process the state will use to award the money, Van Rees said. Later this summer, the state will publish a five-5-year plan outlining its broadband goals, another requirement of the federal program.
The grants will go to projects targeting “unserved” and “underserved” locations and households. Unserved locations are defined as lacking access to at least 25 megabits download and 3 megabit upload speeds, while underserved locations lack at least 100 megabits download and 20 megabits upload speed.
Van Rees said Iowa broadband officials have been planning implementation of the program for the past year. Iowa received $5.7 million in planning funds to roll out the money in December 2022. That money was used to develop the plan to expand high-speed internet in the state and address broadband inequities.
“The additional BEAD funding announced today, combined with nearly $150 million in funds currently available, will further reduce broadband disparities and help to arrive at the goal of universal access in Iowa,” Van Rees said.
Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, was the only of Iowa’s current congressional delegation to vote for the infrastructure bill. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat who lost re-election in 2022, also voted for it.
Grassley applauded the broadband money and $43 million in federal transit funding for Iowa, which was also announced Monday, in a statement. More than half of Iowa’s share of the transit funding will go to Iowa City to expand its fleet of electric city buses and build a new transit facility.
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“Access to efficient broadband and transportation is critical to connecting people and positioning communities for long-term successes,” he said. “Today's infrastructure investments will kick start critical projects, particularly in rural parts of our state. They’ll improve learning opportunities for students and expand markets for small businesses, as well as enhance mobility throughout Iowa.”
Biden announced the funding Monday, kicking off an “Investing in America” tour of at least 20 states, in which Biden and his administration will highlight his infrastructure and economic accomplishments. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit Iowa to highlight efforts to improve access to food and create markets for farmers, according to the White House.
In a speech, Biden lauded the announcement as the biggest-ever investment in high-speed internet and set a goal of providing everyone in the country with affordable high-speed internet by 2030.
“With this funding, along with other federal investments, we’re going to be able to connect every person in America to reliable high-speed internet by 2030,” he said.
Iowa gets $415M to build out high-speed broadband
The money is coming from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law, which Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It is part of the national $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
www.thegazette.com
