How States Are Using ARPA's Capital Projects Fund for Broadband

In a recent edition of Broadband Bytes we talked about the State of Iowa's latest round of broadband grants to providers, NOFA 8. The nearly $149 million in funding for the current application window, which closes on August 25th, comes from the Capital Projects Fund portion of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). 

Many other states are also putting the Capital Projects Fund to work on broadband. The most recent announcement is or the state of Maine, which will use $112 million for both broadband infrastructure and multi-purpose community facility projects.

A June news release from the US Department of Treasury provides a good summary of some of the other states and their Capital Projects Fund broadband efforts. In addition to traditional infrastructure grants, other state initiatives include grants to non-profits and community groups for education and job training (Delaware) and addressing digital equity, affordability, and adoption (Kansas).

These funding opportunities are all in advance of the "Big Kahuna"...$42 billion for broadband arriving next year from the BEAD program.