Louisiana planning $180 Million broadband internet expansion effort

Louisiana intends to spend $180 million over three years on grants to telecommunication firms that construct broadband internet infrastructure in underserved communities, hoping to lessen a technology gap exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Louisiana lawmakers earmarked millions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief aid to try to address the state's digital divide by subsidizing broadband projects. Gov. John Bel Edwards’ (D-LA) newly created Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity will run the grant program. To get the grants, firms will have to cover at least 20% of costs and be required to provide high-speed internet at affordable prices for the next five years. The projects will be evaluated based on how many households and businesses they serve, and ones that receive buy-in from local governments will earn extra points. To bring high-speed internet to every household in Louisiana, the state would need to invest around $1.1 billion, according to Veneeth Iyengar, head of Edwards’ Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity. With $180 million, up to 145,000 households could become connected to high-speed internet, Iyengar said. Complimenting those efforts is another $372 million the federal government awarded directly to providers last year to extend coverage over the next decade to 175,000 households and businesses.