The Pew Charitable Trusts on Nov. 4, 2021, sent a memo to state broadband offices that are participating in its technical assistance program, the broadband education and training initiative, that discussed how states can use line extension programs to subsidize “curb-to-home” connections—the final segments of infrastructure needed to connect each individual home or business to a broadband network. The memo looks at how three states have implemented programs to address last mile expansion, including the rules and procedures they employ to award funds to households, property owners, or internet service providers.
The full text of the memo is below.
###
To: State broadband offices
From: Jake Varn, The Pew Charitable Trusts
Date: Nov. 4, 2021
Subject: State broadband programs—line extensions
The following memo contains information on state broadband line extension programs, including emerging examples from California, Indiana, and Vermont, and similar proposed examples, as of October 2021.
California’s Line Extension Program provides grant funds to offset the costs for households that qualify for California LifeLine or California Alternate Rates for Energy (the utility bill discount program for low-income households). The program subsidizes 100% of the cost, up to a maximum of $500 for a fixed wireless installation or $9,300 for wireline installations.
Created by A.B. 1665, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) program launched as a pilot project within the California Advanced Services Fund Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account, with up to $5 million in grants. Under the program, an individual household and/or property owner can apply for a grant to offset the costs of connecting a household or property to an existing or proposed facility-based broadband provider. All projects awarded are required to be completed in 12 months and must not be included in competing applications. The facilities-based broadband provider is required to inform the applicant of the availability of low-income plans.
See the program rules linked here and CPUC Decision 19-04-021 for the full program rules, including an explanation for how the grant funding levels were set.
Enacted in 2021 by S.B. 377, the Indiana Connectivity Program allows residents and businesses to submit their location for potential line extension funding if their location currently lacks 25/3Mbps speeds. Eligible locations are submitted to providers, and provider bids to service those locations are eligible for grants. Administered by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), the program is a part of the $270 million allocated to the Indiana Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program and has a limit of $25,000 per line extension, and a per passing limit of $4,800.
The process for the program includes:
Vermont established a COVID-19 Line Extension Customer Assistance Program with CARES Act funding in 2020 through H.B. 966. The program funds a maximum of $600 for fixed wireless satellite installation and up to $3,000 for wireline installations. In April 2021, H. 315 allocated $1.6 million in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to the COVID response program. Grants are awarded directly to qualified consumers: those who could demonstrate a COVID-19-related need—such as remote learning, telehealth, or telework—lacked a minimum of 25/3 internet service, and were roughly less than one mile from a cable provider or other internet service provider. Nearly 500 households were connected through this program in 2020.
This program is similar to Vermont’s cable line extension program, which uses a formula based on density to allocate costs between the provider and the customers (Vermont’s online cable line extension calculator assumes a cost of $30,000 per mile). The calculation can be summarized by the following formula:
A=(CT/N)*(1-(N/(H*L)))
Note: These examples have either since changed or have not yet been implemented.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont proposed spending $15 million in ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for line extensions. The governor’s plan stated: “Buildout of broadband infrastructure from street-curb to residences (fiber to the home) for low-income residents, particularly those in multi-family dwellings, is a critical component to digital equity. Curb-to-home buildout in low-income communities will make it easier for residents to get connected to wired broadband networks. … Estimated cost is $700-$1,000 to cut into the right of way/road to make the fiber connection at the street and then a trench to the building/home where the connection is made to existing cabling in the building/home.”
Virginia’s legislature approved $8 million in ARPA funds “to the Department of Housing and Community Development for the Line Extension Customer Assistance Program to support the extension of existing broadband networks to low- to moderate-income residents.”
In 2021, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers proposed a Line Extension Grant program as a part of a $152 million budget for broadband expansion grants. The proposed program would have required the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to make grants to residents not served by a broadband service provider to assist in paying the customer costs associated with line extension necessary to connect broadband service to the properties. The maximum size of a broadband line extension grant would have been $4,000. However, this program was not included in the State Legislature’s final 2021-23 biennial budget.