This effort started in July 2020, after the department established the Florida Office of Broadband under its Division of Community Development.
From there, $1.5 million was allocated via House Bill 1239 during the 2021 legislative session to develop GIS maps to view the state’s broadband Internet availability.
Based on that information, the department published Florida’s Broadband Availability Map in December 2021, identifying broadband-capable networks, service availability for end users, gaps in rural areas, and download and upload speeds.
Fast-forward to November 2022: The Office of Broadband received $247.8 million from the U.S. Treasury for the Capital Projects Fund Broadband Infrastructure Program, plus $5 million for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program’s five-year action plan and $2.4 million in Digital Equity Planning Grant funding.
The following year, more funding was allocated to expand broadband throughout the state, resulting in the following:
- In February 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the first Broadband Opportunity Grant Program awards, totaling more than $144 million for 58 projects. Those efforts impacted nearly 160,000 unserved residential, educational, business and community locations in 41 counties, according to the department’s website.
- In April 2023, FloridaCommerce allocated $22 million for eight county projects through the Broadband Opportunity Grant Program, impacting 33,200 unserved residential, educational, business and community locations.
- In May 2023, the department allocated $133 million through the Broadband Opportunity Grant Program, with $60 million awarded to 22 projects in 19 counties impacting 58,000 unserved residential, educational, business and community locations.
- In July 2023, DeSantis announced more than $247 million was available via the Capital Projects Fund Broadband Infrastructure Program, connecting more than 59,000 unserved and underserved businesses, homes, farms and anchor institutions such as hospitals and libraries to high-speed Internet.
This year, the Florida Department of Commerce is hosting the Florida Broadband Summit in Orlando from Sept. 11-13. The summit will provide a more in-depth update on the state’s broadband expansion and deployment efforts, which Industry Insider — Florida will cover in upcoming newsletters.
More information about the summit can be found online.
