Montana

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 Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $276 million to 44 Tribal entities to expand high-speed Internet access and adoption. The funding from the nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Internet for All Initiative.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Florida, Iowa, Montana, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, allowing them to request access to more than $61.2 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. 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 states can now request access to:

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden announced nearly $173 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in the Dakotas and eight other states to reliable high-speed internet. Projects are being financed by the fifth round of the ReConnect Program.

In Montana, over 63,400 Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) remain unserved and nearly 24,000 remain underserved. The Montana Broadband Office’s vision is to close the digital divide in support of Montana’s economic, workforce, health, and educational goals by ensuring reliable, affordable internet access for everyone in the state.

Montana’s broadband efforts took a leap forward when the state became first in the nation to open its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program application portal. “We’ve been working behind the scenes to be ready,” said Misty Ann Giles, Director of the Department of Administration and Chief Operating Officer for the state of Montana. And Montana was ready.

Gov Greg Gianforte (R-MT) announced that the State of Montana will be the first state in the nation to open its Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) application portal. On August 1, Gov.

Wyoming-based Visionary Broadband’s got quite the resume in both the fiber and wireless space. Visionary won nearly $27 million in ARPA grant awards to provide fiber broadband in remote areas of Wyoming. It’s also got a foothold in Colorado, Montana and Washington state. State grants have helped Visionary recently gain seven new markets, said CEO Brian Worthen. Those include three markets in Colorado, two in Montana and two in Wyoming.

Ziply Fiber has set its sights on Montana for its next expansion. The operator unveiled plans to build fiber to nearly 29,000 addresses in Billings and Great Falls—marking Ziply’s first major expansion in the state. Previously, it only offered service in the towns of Libby and Troy. Ryan Luckin, Ziply’s VP of marketing, said that Ziply will use a combination of buried and aerial fiber for the deployments and expects to complete construction in Billings and Great Falls by the fall. Ziply’s also plotting to turn up another 26,000 addresses with fiber in Missoula, Helena and Butte.