The Indiana Broadband Office is kicking off its November listening sessions regarding the Initial Proposal. The IBO is hosting 6 listening sessions because local feedback is critical to this process. These sessions will be helpful to review the Initial Proposal with the public and take comments and questions from the participants. The first group is as follows:
Session 1 – November 6 in Dubois County at Jasper Parklands, 5 p.m.
Session 2 – November 8 in Ripley County at Versailles Town Hall, 5 p.m.
To RSVP, visit here
Initial Proposal Volume I Public Comment Period Ends Nov. 6
We are in the final days for public comment for the Initial Proposal Volume I! We encourage Indiana residents, community organizations, businesses, local units of government, and other groups to participate in the public comment period. You can review the IP by visiting here, comments can be made by emailing them to ibopubliccomment@iot.in.gov. Stay tuned for Volume II being posted soon!
BEAD Letter of Credit Waiver Update
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced yesterday it released a programmatic waiver of the Letter of Credit (LOC) requirement in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The waiver modifies the LOC requirement for subgrantees of all Eligible Entities by:
- Allowing credit unions to issue LOCs
- Allowing the use of performance tools
- Allowing Eligible Entities to reduce the obligations upon the completion of milestones
- Allowing for an alternative initial LOC or performance bond percentage
The NTIA made these changes with the intention of encouraging robust participation from a broad range of service providers while giving states and territories more ways to ensure that those who receive grants can build a high-quality network and ensure future success. Please read the NTIA’s blog post and updates guidance for more information.
About BEAD
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is a federal program that provides $42 billion nationwide to expand high-speed broadband access. BEAD was funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is overseen by the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA). BEAD prioritizes unserved locations that have no internet access or limited access under 25/3 Mbps and underserved locations that only have access under 100/20 Mbps.
Indiana was awarded $868 million in BEAD funds to ensure that every Indiana resident has access to high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband access.
The Indiana Broadband Office is planning and currently determining exactly how BEAD funds will be spent in the state. The first step towards this planning is the drafting and submission of the Initial Proposal, a document that contains two volumes and describes how the Indiana Broadband Office will determine which addresses, called broadband serviceable locations (BSLs), in Indiana are eligible for these funds and how funds will be allocated and awarded to Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Each volume of the Initial Proposal will be posted online for a 30-day public comment period.
