The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) has announced $3.9 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grant funds are now available for projects expanding high-speed Internet access across the state.
Through the Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO), the state will award successful applicants with a maximum grant of $500 million.
The CPA’s notice of funding availability (NOFA) specifies $3.3 billion are federal funds and $550 million are state funds provided by the Texas Match Assistance Program (TMAP).
According to the notice, applicants who are eligible for award include “cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, private companies, public or private utilities, public utility districts or local governments, tribal organizations and for-profit organizations.”
Eligible projects are those that will deploy and expand broadband service to unserved and underserved communities and locations within an awarded project area.
Qualifying broadband must provide a speed of no less than one gigabyte per second for downloads and uploads with latency that is less than or equal to 100 milliseconds.
More detailed information about BDO-NOFA-006, including all submission requirements and requests, can be found online. Questions are due by 2 p.m. May 29. The deadline for applications for the first round of grants is Aug. 1. Erin Benal is the point of contact.
Comptroller to Award $3.9B in Broadband Grant Funds
Through the Texas Broadband Development Office, the state will award successful applicants with a maximum grant of $500 million.
