The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity’s Utah Broadband Center is pleased to announce applications for its Broadband Access Grant are open from Sept. 20 to Nov. 1, 2021.
The $10 million Broadband Access Grant program offsets 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.
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, the Economic Opportunity office’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.”
The Utah Broadband Center may award grants to an eligible applicant, including:
- 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
- Tribal governments
Applications will be available here beginning at 9 a.m. (MDT) on Sept. 20, 2021. Utah Broadband Access Grant terms and conditions are available here.