Applications are being accepted until Nov. 1 for a grant to boost broadband availability in underserved communities.
The Utah Broadband Center in the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) has $10 million available in the grant program to offset capital expenses in deploying high-speed broadband end connections to households and businesses in unserved rural and underserved economically distressed areas statewide.
A household may have Internet, but if the available speeds are not adequate to meet today’s demands of online working, learning and providing telehealth needs from home, it may be underserved, the center said.
Program funds target areas unlikely to receive broadband service without grant funding.
“Having Internet access is crucial in maintaining Utah’s competitive edge in the marketplace,” said Ryan Starks, Go Utah’s managing director of business services. “Ensuring all Utahns have equal access to broadband availability is essential to maintaining a thriving marketplace, and the Broadband Access Grant provides just that.”
Eligible applicants include telecommunications providers or Internet service providers; public-private partnerships (local government entities and one or more private entities established to expand affordable broadband access in the state); and tribal governments.
Grant applications are available at business.utah.gov/broadband. Grant terms and conditions are available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Nps7DA69vR0iUaemm7v5K6eu0MHK6er_/edit.