Arizona Commerce Authority announces $100 million in broadband grants to 20 awardees in rural and urban Arizona

The Arizona Commerce Authority announced 20 awardees of the Arizona Broadband Development Grant Program (ABDG), investing $100 million to expand high-speed broadband to Arizona’s unserved or underserved areas. The Arizona Commerce Authority allocated $75.7 million to 14 awardees in rural counties and $23.6 million to six awardees in urban counties, spurring $112.8 million in local matching funds. Grants were awarded through a competitive process based on criteria such as return on investment and local support. When completed, the grant projects will increase connections for homes, businesses, public safety agencies, medical facilities, schools, libraries and more while catalyzing new economic development and enhancing opportunities for sectors such as tourism, trade, and agriculture. Examples of projects include installing high-speed fiber-optic infrastructure, deploying Wi-Fi access points and networking equipment for broadband internet, and expanding existing and middle-mile fiber networks.