The Capital Projects Fund Helps Utah Bridge Broadband Access Gap

The Utah Broadband Center and Access Act—enacted July 1, 2021—created the state's broadband office to 1) ensure that publicly funded broadband projects continue to be publicly accessible and provide a public benefit, 2) develop the statewide digital connectivity plan, and 3) administer the Broadband Access Grant Program. The Utah Broadband Center was also charged with working with the Utah Geospatial Resource Center to create a database and interactive map displaying statewide economic development data which includes voluntarily submitted broadband availability, speeds, and other data. BroadbandNow ranks Utah 13th in the U.S. for internet coverage, speed, and availability, estimating that nearly 97 percent of residents there have access to 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload broadband. BroadbandNow estimates that nearly 95 percent of Utahns have access to 100 Mbps broadband and 86 percent have access to 1 Gigabit service. Just less than half have access to a fiber-based broadband network. But only 20 percent of residents are able to purchase broadband at a price of $60/month or less. The Utah Broadband Center estimates that approximately 61,600 households and businesses lack access to broadband.