Notice
Capital Projects Fund Broadband Program
June 12th, 2023The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (Authority) is currently accepting applications for the Capital Projects Fund – Broadband Infrastructure Program (Program) through Monday, July 10, 2023. The Authority has also designed and made available a FAQ document for this program.
The $200 million competitive grant program,funded through the American Rescue Plan Act’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF), will target locations that do not currently have access to 25/3 Mbps reliable service. Eligible applicants include local units of government, non-profits, cooperatives, and private entities. The Program will fund extensions of existing last-mile cable modem and fiber-to-the-premise broadband networks as well as large-scale regional projects that can transform broadband availability by serving large numbers of eligible addresses.
Additionally, the Authority has created an online web map to support prospective applicants for this program and future programs. This map shows broadband serviceable locations and community anchor institutions across the Commonwealth. The Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) are categorized into served, underserved, and unserved layers. This map will continue to be updated using the latest available data from the Federal Communications Commission Broadband Data Collection (BDC). We anticipate this map being released and available to the public in the near future.
If you have additional questions about this program, please utilize the following resource account, pbda_capitalprojectsfund@pa.gov.
Capital Projects Fund BIP Map and FAQ
The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority has created an online web application for its Capital Projects Fund (CPF) - Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP). This map is using Version 2 of the National Broadband Map, which was just released on 05/30/2023. The tool will be maintained with the most recent service availability data from the Federal Communications Commission Broadband Data Collection (BDC) portal. In addition to showing broadband serviceable locations, there is a draft list of community anchor institutions available.
The broadband serviceable locations are symbolized based on their service availability status (i.e., Unserved, Underserved, or Served). This map includes a selection tool to allow users to select broadband serviceable locations and the counts will display as a bar graph in the gray box in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. These counts will assist users in being able to calculate the 80% threshold of unserved/underserved locations within a proposed project area.
An updated FAQ section can be found at the following address:
https://dced.pa.gov/programs-funding/broadband-in-pennsylvania/bip-frequently-asked-questions/
Any further questions should be directed to PBDA_CapitalProjectsFund@pa.gov.
