Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity

Some Louisiana communities have never had high-speed, affordable internet access, but thanks to REV Business and the GUMBO grant program, these areas are finally getting connected. REV was established in 2020 as a combination of former telecommunications companies RTC, EATEL, and Vision Communications. With 2,790 miles of fiber and more than 60,000 customers, REV serves multiple parishes in south Louisiana including parts of Lafourche, Terrebonne, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Ascension, Livingston, and East Baton Rouge.

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program grants to Grambling State University, Southern University and A&M College, Southern University Law Center and Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO). The funding for this two-year program will provide a variety of broadband services for universities and their anchor communities.

It is critical that we address a pending issue that could negatively affect our efforts toward eliminating the digital divide. Funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program will expire in the summer of 2024 unless it is reauthorized. Granting access to high-speed internet without addressing affordability will prevent hundreds of thousands of Louisianians from maximizing the effects of this service on their lives. Thus, reauthorization of ACP funding is a crucial step toward eliminating the digital divide.

In 2022, Jeff Churchwell made history. As the general manager of Winnsboro-based Northeast Louisiana Power Cooperative (NELPCO), Churchwell led the initiative to become the first Louisiana electric cooperative to provide broadband for its members. NELPCO serves seven parishes in northeast Louisiana: Franklin, Madison, Richland, Tensas, East Carroll, West Carroll and Morehouse. With Campbell on board, construction for Volt Broadband began by June. As of April 2023, Volt Broadband has 930 active customers and installs eight to 10 new customers every day.
 

In collaboration with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, ConnectLA has developed a first volume of Louisiana's proposal for how the state plans to use Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funds to address Louisiana’s digital divide. This volume outlines current efforts to deploy broadband, a breakdown of unserved and underserved locations, and an overview of the process to challenge a provider’s service availability and performance.

This plan outlines Louisiana’s first coordinated effort to assess the state’s digital divide and move Louisiana toward digital equity.