Nearly $1 Billion in Rescue Plan Funds Heads to Six States

American Rescue Plan Act pic

The U.S. Treasury Department announced another six states have been approved to receive nearly $1 billion in Capital Projects Funds from the American Rescue Plan to bring new broadband infrastructure to more than 180,000 homes and businesses.

The latest tranche of CPF funds is heading to Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Utah, bringing the total number of states to have been approved for their share of the $10 billion fund to 22 states.

Previous awards were announced in June, July, August, early October and late October. According to a Treasury Department press release, the remaining funds for additional states and Tribal territories will be released on a rolling basis.

U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the announcement further underscored the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to invest in the expansion of reliable, affordable broadband infrastructure as the Covid pandemic “exposed the stark inequity in access to affordable and reliable high-speed Internet in communities across the country.”

This funding will lay the foundation for the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments to increase access to high-speed Internet and reduce Internet bills for American households and businesses.

Florida

The Sunshine State is set to receive $248 million to fund new broadband infrastructure that will connect an estimated 48,400 households and businesses, or about 10 percent of locations in Florida that do not have access to high-speed Internet. That amount accounts for 68 percent of the CPF funds Florida will receive as plans for how the state will spend the remainder of funds is still under Treasury review.

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Florida Welcome sign

The money will be administered by Florida’s Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP), which oversees the state’s competitive grant program to expand last mile networks in rural parts of the state. Fiber projects will be prioritized as the BIP looks to bring symmetrical 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) connectivity to unserved communities.

As is required with all states who receive CPF funds, projects funded under the program will participate in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) – a $30/month subsidy for qualifying households to pay for home Internet subscriptions. (To see how many households have been enrolled in ACP to date in each state, down to the zip code level, you can explore our ACP Dashboard here.)

Georgia

Just north of Florida, in the neighboring state of Georgia, Treasury approved $250 million in CPF funds to connect an estimated 70,000 households and businesses across the Peach State, which is about 15 percent of locations in Georgia who lack high-speed Internet access.

The money heading to Georgia will be allocated for the Georgia Capital Projects Fund grant program, a competitive grant program that targets parts of the state that do not currently have access to broadband that meets or exceeds 25/3 Mbps. 

The allocation represents 96 percent of Georgia’s CPF funds with the remainder still under review by Treasury.

Iowa 

The Hawkeye State is set to receive $152.2 million and will connect nearly 19,000 households and businesses, or about 16 percent of locations in Iowa without access to high-speed Internet service. Iowa’s portion will fund the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Program. 

That program, according to the Treasury Department press release, uses a three-step process that combines mapping data, input from communities, and applications from Internet service providers to identify areas with “a critical need for broadband.”

The funds approved for Iowa represents 100 percent of the state’s total allocation under the CPF program.

Minnesota 

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Minnesota broadband map

Minnesota is getting $44 million to fund two broadband infrastructure programs: Minnesota’s Line Extension Program that focuses on areas where residents are “are located near infrastructure for high-quality broadband service but where the cost of the last mile connection is a barrier.” The second program that will receive funds is the state’s Low-Density Pilot Program, a competitive grant program that provides financial assistance for Internet service providers to invest in “low-density areas of the state that currently lack high-speed Internet.”

Combined with other funding sources, Minnesota is spending a total of $127 million to reach an estimated 32,000 locations, or 12 percent of locations without access to high-speed Internet service. The recent allocation represents 70 percent of Minnesota’s total allocation with the remainder of the state’s CPF funds under review by Treasury.

Missouri

The Show-Me State is being shown a $196.7 million CPF check to connect an estimated 37,979 households and businesses, which is approximately 8 percent of locations in Missouri that still lack high-speed Internet access.

The money will fund the Missouri Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program, a competitive grant program designed to fund broadband infrastructure projects where “broadband infrastructure projects would not be feasible without assistance.”

Utah

The last of the six states approved in the latest allocation of CPF funds is Utah: approved for $10 million. The funds will be used to connect about 3,000 households and businesses, or about 5 percent of locations in the Beehive State that still lack high-speed Internet access.

Utah’s award will fund the state’s Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Grant Program. Utah received the smallest slice of federal funds in this round of CPF awards, largely because the $10 million Utah is recieving now represents only 7 percent of the state’s total allocation under the CPF program. The remaining allocation is still under review by Treasury.

To date, 22 states have been approved to receive all or a portion of its CPF funds, which, thus far, will connect an estimated 700,000 locations.