Doug Adams

Ohio has “very competitive” and “aggressive” broadband providers, which bodes well for the state’s goal of making broadband available statewide, said Peter Voderberg, chief for BroadbandOhio. He points to the fact that the state received applications requesting a total of $780 million when it made $77 million available for rural broadband deployments using funding from the federal Capital Projects Fund.  Voderberg has an extensive history working within Ohio’s state government and was serving as a policy advisor to Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) before establishing BroadbandOhio, ironically a

Minnesota didn’t wait for the federal government’s help to make funding available for rural broadband deployments. The state’s Border to Border program is often cited as a model for rural broadband funding.

Pennsylvania will be getting $1.2 billion in Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program rural broadband funding, making it one of the top states in terms of the amount awarded. Telecompetitor spoke with Brandon Carson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, about BEAD and other efforts to make broadband available throughout the state. Pennsylvania aims to deliver service to 236,000 unserved and 52,000 underserved locations.

Elaina Zempel, manager of the Wyoming broadband office, laments that the office didn’t have more funds to distribute in its recent Capital Projects Fund (CPF) program, which awarded funding to network operators to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to 15,000 unserved and underserved locations. Fortunately, NTIA allocated $347.9 million in rural broadband funding to Wyoming for the BEAD rural broadband funding program, so there is still an opportunity to fund many of the failed requests from Wyoming’s 

Illinois Broadband Director Matt Schmit is no newbie, nor is the state’s broadband office. In 2019, Illinois’ $45 billion capital investment plan included $400 million to fund a new broadband program that would be dubbed “Connect Illinois.” That summer, Schmit was recruited from Minnesota to stand up the office that would oversee the grant program and Illinois’ broadband efforts.

Just about six months into his appointed role as broadband director for Nebraska, Patrick Haggerty is upbeat, positive, and taking on Nebraska’s BEAD deployment with a smile.

“We’re set up to attract, expand, and create new businesses and job opportunities while at the same time be unimpeded by government red tape and mandates,” said Sandip Bhowmick, state broadband director and vice president of infrastructure at Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA). Arizona’s broadband office is housed within the ACA, a unique government organization overseen by a public-private board of directors and chaired by the Arizona governor.

Texas’ Broadband Development Office Director Greg Conte explains why $3.3 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding might not be as appealing as it sounds. “Receiving $3.3 billion is great, but with that comes a lot of responsibility, said Conte. “There’s a lot of attention on Texas as we have a significant amount of unserved and under-served homes, businesses, community anchor institutions.

NOVOS FiBER publicized itself with an announcement that Arlington (TX)will soon have a new broadband provider. NOVOS FiBER was founded in 2022, funded by InLight Capital, a private investment firm based in Sugar Land (TX). NOVOS Fiber is entering both the retail and wholesale markets and plans to serve a “significant number” of homes over the next two years. First focusing on Texas, NOVOS will eventually expand beyond state lines. Founder and CEO Andrew Snead said he and the company have a strong conviction to go against the grain of the “internet service is primarily a utility” mentality.

Spend a little time with Idaho State Broadband Program Manager Ramón Hobdey-Sánchez and it’s easy to see his enthusiasm for his home state. “I have a passion for public service and there are few things that I love more than the State of Idaho,” Hobdey-Sánchez said. “Broadband and internet connectivity is something that we can all agree is good for individuals, communities, and the state.