Nebraska State Broadband Office

Listen up, Cornhuskers! The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) has announced the approval of a second round of Capital Projects Fund (CPF) grants worth nearly $31 million for broadband infrastructure buildouts in the state.This initiative is part of a continuing effort to bring broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved regions across Nebraska, as News Channel Nebraska reports.The PSC received 60 applications for this round of funding. The grant review process included assessing challenges from parties claiming to already serve or plan to serve the areas specified in the applications. After a thorough review, the PSC decided to fund 28 of these applications that should extend broadband service to approximately 1,640 unserved and 1,570 underserved locations. Specific Project AwardsAmong those ISPs who are receiving this round of Nebraska CPF grants are (full list on page 21 of the PDF attached below):Inventive Wireless of Nebraska, LLC dba Vistabeam emerged as the company receiving the most funding, with a total of approximately $9,345,751 allocated for various projects. ALLO Communications received approval for several projects including:Blue River Lodge/Saline County Rural, serving 107 locations with $760,354.North Ogallala, serving 625 locations with $3,610,697.East Valentine, serving 63 locations with $320,912.North Scottsbluff, serving 67 locations with $266,886.Village of Bradshaw, serving 260 locations with $594,074 .Glenwood Telecommunications, Inc. was awarded for:Heartwell, serving 46 locations with $364,217.08.Kearney County, serving 59 locations with $1,005,167.02.Prosser, serving 84 locations with $1,417,886.03 .Great Plains Communications LLC received grants for:Project Brunswick, serving 130 locations with $1,120,098.28.Project Emmet, serving 56 locations with $381,651.52.Project McCook South, serving 108 locations with $1,161,237.12 .Grant recipients are required to submit quarterly and annual reports detailing construction progress and financial metrics to ensure compliance with federal guidelines. The first report is due by July 15, 2024 .These projects are expected to be completed by December 4, 2025, unless the Commission grants an extension.The CPF grants are legally mandated to be distributed across Congressional Districts One and Three, ensuring that at least $40 million is allocated to each district for eligible broadband projects.CPF is just one of the “big three” major federal broadband funding streams available to state governments/territories/Tribal governments right now, with BEAD and the Tribal Connectivity Program also ongoing. Also, USDA is continuing to make awards through its ReConnect program for rural areas.What do we think, Nebraska Broadband.IOers? Good selection of recipients? Let us know!@Travis Radnor, @William King, @Alex Wente, @Erin Benal, @LeAnn Jochum, @Trent Rybicki?2024-06-04 CPF-2 Order Issuing Grant Awards and Results of Challenges.pdf

On November 16, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced that Nebraska had received $5,598,563 in funding for its state broadband planning grant under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Nebraska was awarded $4,999,817 of funds through the state-led planning grants. It plans to develop a state broadband map, set up outreach for stakeholders and enable the Nebraska Public Service Commission to hire more employees. When full grant applications are submitted under the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, the state expects to receive $100 million more in funds. The Public Service Comission is set to administer the BEAD program, the state said.  Nebraska also received $598,746 in planning funds through the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program. In its application, the state said that it plans to promote telehealth and precision agriculture technologies. Speaking of the awards, Gov. Pete Ricketts said, “No matter the distance Nebraskans live from a city, they should have access to the online tools they need to live, learn, and do business.”