Idaho

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $313 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in 18 states to reliable high-speed internet.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announced that certain Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) census block groups (CBG) are now eligible for other funding programs.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $6.3 million to Idaho to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Idaho, North Dakota and American Samoa’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.  This approval enables Idaho, North Dakota, and American Samoa to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. This action allows states and territories to request:  

• Idaho: Over $583 Million
• North Dakota: Over $130 Million
• American Samoa: Over $37 Million

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering with rural cooperatives, local organizations and Tribes to support high-speed internet deployment in 11 states. USDA is awarding $5.2 million in cooperative agreements through the Broadband Technical Assistance Program, which is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

In Fort Collins, Colorado, residents have a unique option when signing up for internet service. Instead of being limited to giant providers like Comcast, Charter or Cox, they can opt for a city-owned and operated service, called Connexion. Connexion's genesis took place about a decade ago, when the city was looking for ways to bring faster, more affordable internet to the community. In November 2017, voters approved a ballot measure to build a municipal fiber network.

At least 13 states intend to undertake “nondeployment” projects as part of their funding under the $42.5-billion BEAD program, according to their initial proposals. The number of states that expect money left over after allocating funds for all unserved and underserved locations could be higher, and perhaps considerably so.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Idaho’s Digital Equity Plan. Using $564,706 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, Idaho created a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state. States are continuing to submit their plans for NTIA’s acceptance, and NTIA will accept plans on a rolling basis.