Slow internet frustrates thousands in Louisiana. Here’s the $90 million plan to fix it.

From rural towns to inner cities, high-speed internet is out of reach for thousands of Louisianans, but with millions of dollars in grants available, a new state initiative aimed at closing the digital divide is gaining significant interest from private companies. With $90 million to distribute, Louisiana’s Office of Broadband Development & Connectivity received $440 million in funding requests from 23 companies in its first round of applications. The proposals cover 58 parishes and aim to provide high-speed internet to 215,000 households and 14,000 businesses. “The amount of applications we’ve received and the enthusiasm for broadband we’ve met from municipalities across the state reaffirms how important our work is to Louisiana,” said Veneeth Iyengar, executive director of ConnectLA, another name for the state office. The grant program — known as the Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities, or GUMBO, program — requires applicants to provide high-speed internet at affordable prices for the next five years and put at least 20% into funds, with points given to those who exceed that threshold. . The first round of applicants invested an average of 40% in matching funds. The winners of the first financing round will be announced in March and construction will start in May 2022.