Capital Projects Fund Helps Link Indiana to the World

Indiana Governor, Eric Holcomb (R-IN) and Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch (R-IN) are leading the largest broadband investment in the state's history. Ball State University researchers found that thousands of homes across the state--urban and rural, low-income, and non-English speaking--experience the brunt of lacking access to broadband internet access. To combat this, Lt. Gov Suzanne Crouch created the Office of Broadband Opportunities in 2018 to identify needs and eliminate roadblocks to broadband deployment and digital literacy in the state. The office is meant to be a one-stop shop for all things broadband in Indiana. With this, and several other efforts to strategically combat Indiana's digital divide, the US Treasury approved Indiana's plans to use $187 million of Capital Projects Fund support for Next Level Connections. Indiana is using 92% of its total Capital Projects Fund allocation to bring high-speed internet to 50,349 locations—7.4% of the locations in the state still lack broadband. Each of the internet service providers funded by the program will participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—a $30 per month subsidy for low-income families.