By Dewayne Holloway
Glenwood Herald
MURFREESBORO – State Broadband Director Glen E. Howie addressed the upcoming BEAD Grant Program and the possible impact it could have on residents of Pike, Montgomery, and Howard counties.
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, or BEAD Program, is the fourth broadband infrastructure grant program in Arkansas. It is expected to launch in October.
The BEAD Program will fund broadband infrastructure grants to internet service providers (ISPs) to build and upgrade high-speed internet to unconnected and under-connected homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions. Unlike prior grant programs, the BEAD program will award grants for the entire State of Arkansas.
The town hall style meeting was held at the Murfreesboro Municipal Building Saturday, August 31. Howie opened the meeting with a brief explanation of the who the state broadband office is and what services they provide.
The Arkansas Broadband Office is a branch of the Arkansas Department of Commerce and currently has seven members serving the state. They have overseen three phases of the ARC Grant Program. Grant programs from the FCC and USDA have also provided funds to improve internet access in the state of Arkansas. There are currently two ARC Grant Funded projects active in Montgomery County. Approximately 350,000 locations have been impacted statewide with an estimated 875,000 Arkansans impacted.
The BEAD Program is the largest funded project to date with $1.024 billion allocated to the state by the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide broadband internet access to unserved and underserved residents in the state.
Arkansas is one of only 19 states to be allocated more than $1 billion, ranking ninth in the country, per capita. Unlike prior grant programs, the BEAD program will award grants for the entire state.
Howie explained that the application process for the BEAD Program is complex and restrictive. The grant application process will include a tranche 1 and tranche 2 phase, as well as a negotiation phase. All three will be completed in a 40-week period. The entire program must be completed in one year.
Unlike previous grant processes, the BEAD Program will review all ISP applications and approve grants at the same time. The grants are 75/25 grants.
BEAD Program Grant estimates for Pike County are $2.4 million to provide broadband services to 75 locations. ISPs are expected to receive $2.4 million to provide broadband services to 33 locations in Montgomery County. $3.5 million is expected to be awarded to ISPs serving Howard County to provide access to 30 locations.
The BEAD Program includes three action items. Engage with ISPs, letters of support, and non-deployment.
The state will provide a list of all ISPs serving communities in the state to local officials. County and city officials can submit letters of support for any number of ISPs seeking a grant to provide broadband service in their area. Howie explained that the letters of support are an important part of the process and go a long way in helping ISPs receive grants.
Letters of support are limited to county and city officials such as a county judge or justices of the peace, mayors, city council members, and school board members. A template letter must be used. Officials may write letters of support for as many ISPs as they like with one letter of support per ISP accepted.
The most intriguing aspect of the BEAD Program is the non-deployment action item.
Howie explained that non-deployment funds are essentially grant funds left over after the projects have been completed. Arkansas is one of a handful of states expected to complete the program with non-deployment funds available.
The non-deployment funds can be used to fund broadband related projects in the state to provide services for education, small businesses, agriculture, and healthcare. Possibilities that could affect Pike and Montgomery County residents include resources for telehealth, cell towers in remote locations to provide access on trails and campgrounds.
After a brief question and answer period the meeting was adjourned.
During the Q&A period Howard County Judge Brent Pinkerton expressed frustration with the limitations of the grant process. He explained that ISPs are unable to apply for grants to provide 1 gigabyte service to the city of Nashville because Summitt Cable provides internet access to their customers with speeds up to 400 megabytes, which is over the 100-megabyte limit set by the state. He added that their service is outdated, and they refuse to update it to provide improved service.
For information on broadband access, or grant information visit the website at broadband.arkansas.gov.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
