State Getting $1 Billion for Rural Internet

LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Department of Commerce, along with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, announced Monday that Arkansas will receive $1,024,303,993.86 from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The funds will be used to expand broadband access in Arkansas and address affordability and digital skills needs throughout the state. transformational for Arkansas,” said Gov. Sanders. “With more than $1 billion now at our state’s disposal to fund broadband access, we will finally be able to close the digital divide between rural and urban Arkansas. This puts every part of our state on an equal playing field and unlocks a world of potential for businesses, schools, and everyday Arkansans.” The announcement came the same day that the newly formed Cleveland County Broadband Committee held its first meeting to begin developing a plan to pursue some of the grant money BEAD to expand fiber optic broadband service throughout the county. Glen Howie, director of the Arkansas State Broadband Office, told a Cleveland County community broadband meeting back in April that the state’s BEAD funding will likely be issued in portions with the first installment arriving perhaps as early as this fall. The state’s broadband goal, as articulated in its broadband plan, is to get universal access to broadband at speeds of 100 mbps download and 20 mbps upload. Howie encouraged the county to develop a broadband committee to come up with a plan to expand high speed internet into the unserved or under-served areas of the county. Those plans will then be included in the grant applications for the broadband expansion. The grants, he said, will be awarded on a competitive basis and each application will be assessed on how well the plan meets three criteria: broadband expan...