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Feds approve Montana's $628M broadband expansion grant proposal • Daily Montanan [1]

['Blair Miller', 'Lia Chien', 'Daily Montanan Staff', 'Keila Szpaller', 'More From Author', '- August', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline']

Date: 2024-08-01

The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Thursday it had approved the State of Montana’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment proposal, which will allow the state to request $628 million that will go toward expanding broadband access in areas that are underserved or have no service at all.

The $42.5 billion BEAD grant program is part of the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The NTIA’s approval of Montana’s proposal marks the next step in what has now been a more than two-year effort by the Gianforte administration to secure funding after it initially started planning its application in May 2022.

The NTIA and U.S. Department of Commerce approved on Thursday the proposals for Montana, Oklahoma and Vermont, and said they looked forward to working with the states to build out internet access.

“In the 21st century, a reliable internet connection is a necessity that enables access to jobs, healthcare, and education,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. “Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department of Commerce is committed to ensuring that everyone in Montana, Oklahoma, Vermont, and across the country have access to quality, affordable high-speed internet.”

Now that the state’s proposal has been approved, Montana will have a year to launch its grant application, get applicants, and submit the proposals it picks to the NTIA to be approved. The state’s application portal will open on Aug. 15, the governor’s office said.

Once an applicant is picked, those providers will have four years to finish and deploy broadband services to Montanans. The governor’s office said the state Department of Administration’s proposal would deliver broadband to nearly half a million people in unserved and underserved parts of Montana.

“Through this generational investment, Montana will continue leading the nation on expanding reliable, high-speed connections and bridging the digital divide,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement. “We’re unlocking doors and creating greater access to good-paying jobs, high-quality education, and affordable health care.”

The Department of Administration was awarded a $5 million planning grant for the program in December 2022, and the Communications Advisory Commission approved the state’s five-year action plan last June before the state submitted the proposal to NTIA in July.

A Department of Administration report found Montana was 50th among states in terms of high-speed internet availability and 44th in term of adoption, and found nearly 6% of Montana households have no computers of any kind.

In March, the NTIA approved an adjacent Digital Opportunity Plan for Montana, and in December 2022, Gianforte announced the state would put $309 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to expand broadband to 61,000 more locations. The year prior, he signed the Connect MT Act into law, which put about $275 million in federal funds toward broadband expansion.

“The cost to deliver broadband on the scale needed, combined with Montana’s low population density, makes it challenging to bring areas of our state online,” Department of Administration Director Misty Ann Giles said in a statement. “BEAD funding provides a unique opportunity to meet these challenges, expanding broadband to unserved and underserved areas of Montana.”

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2024/08/01/feds-approve-montanas-628m-broadband-expansion-grant-proposal/

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