Notice of Funding Opportunity
Infrastructure Acceleration Grants
The Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) will award approximately $266 million in broadband infrastructure grants in at least two funding rounds planned for October 2021 and April 2022. The current funding round will have approximately $135 million in federal funds available with the remainder available in April 2022. Entities eligible to apply are:
- Local governments, including public ports and public utility districts,
- Federally recognized Tribes,
- Nonprofit organizations,
- Nonprofit cooperative organizations, and
- Multiparty entities that consist of at least one public partner.
Eligible projects will construct broadband infrastructure designed to deliver broadband service, as part of a contiguous network, that:
- At minimum, delivers transmission speeds of 100 megabits per second download and 100 megabits per second upload (100/100) unless impracticable due to geography, topography, or financial cost in which case speeds of 100/20 are acceptable if scalable to 100/100; and
- Is deployed in unserved areas, defined as areas lacking access to reliable (wireline connection) service at speeds of at least 25/3.
The WSBO will prioritize projects based on competitive criteria that include but are not limited to:
- Project readiness;
- Service to underserved areas that lack access to reliable speeds of at least 100/20;
- Regional collaboration;
- Last mile connections;
- Affordability for end-users; and
- Digital equity considerations on access, affordability and digital literacy.
The WSBO anticipates grant awards may range from $1 million to $25 million.
Pre-application due: 10/18/2021
By 11/8/2021, the WSBO will invite qualified projects to complete the full application.
Full application due: 11/29/2021
Contact: Tammy Mastro -Â tammy.mastro@commerce.wa.gov
|
