CARES Money for Broadband: Insights Gained from County Projects

In 2020, states directed millions of CARES Act funds toward broadband infrastructure. While any money for high-speed Internet is a good thing, these dollars initially came with an aggressive Dec 2020 deadline, meaning that some local stakeholders were better positioned than others to take on the timeline burden. Some PA and VA county leaders did not feel comfortable pursuing the money because of uncertainty as to whether their broadband challenges could be interpreted as COVID-related issues, as local connectivity problems existed well before the pandemic struck. Because of these factors, communities that had strong organization around broadband were more able to go after CARES money, said Jessica Fowler, chief client officer for Lit Communities. The lesson in this is clear: future funding opportunities, especially when it comes to emergency dollars, may depend on the farsightedness of a local area. “The most important thing you can do is make sure your internal house is in order,” Fowler advised. “Make sure you understand that the money will have to be very carefully accounted for. Understand that you will need support from your leadership all the way down to your planning departments … you need people working together.”