$80 million is available for local communities to increase broadband coverage

Gov. Holcomb announces fourth round of Next Level Connections Broadband grants

($80 million is available for local communities to increase broadband coverage)

INDIANAPOLIS–Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced today the fourth and final round of Indiana’s Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program is now open for applications.

The NLC grant program, which seeks to bridge the digital divide by bringing high-quality, reliable broadband to unserved and underserved parts of Indiana, began as part of Gov. Holcomb’s Next Level Connections initiative, a $1 billion statewide infrastructure program announced in 2018.

“As a state, since 2018 we have made unprecedented investments in connecting Indiana residents to their neighbors, schools and the rest of the world like never before in our history,” Gov. Holcomb said. “This final round of Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program funding will be yet another critical component of the transition to the recently announced $868 million of additional funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program to connect more Hoosiers to begin being implemented next year and beyond.”

With $80 million remaining in state funds and federal Capital Project Funds appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly for Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program, this round will provide a maximum of $5 million per grant to fund projects by telecommunications providers and utility cooperatives. Service providers must provide a minimum 20 percent match of the total allowable project costs. In Round 4 of the NLC program, local governments will inform the State of unserved or underserved areas in their communities.

Since 2019, the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program awarded more than $249 million to 187 projects, for a total investment of $547 million with local matching funds. These previously awarded projects will bring broadband infrastructure to more than 69,154 homes, commercial locations, and anchor institutions, such as schools, universities, hospitals or major employers, in 81 counties.

“Whether I’m meeting with realtors in Allen County or farmers in Montgomery County, access to affordable and reliable high-speed connectivity is the number one priority around Indiana,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, who also serves as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “As a state, we are aggressively closing the gap between Hoosiers who have broadband and Hoosiers who do not. This grant money, combined with the matching funds required by the providers, will get Indiana closer to complete broadband saturation.”

Applications and more information can be found at www.ocra.in.gov/nlc. For questions on grant applications, contact nlc@ocra.in.gov.