(The Center Square) — Broadband expansion into rural areas of Louisiana is a major priority for the state House Commerce Committee.
During the committee’s meeting on Monday, the Louisiana office of broadband development and connectivity, or ConnectLA, discussed Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities 1.0 and 2.0. Both are grant programs intended to improve internet connection for the underserved and unserved statewide.
Veneeth Iyengar, the executive director of ConnectLA, said Gumbo 1.0 was a federal grant of $176 million. The office must spend those funds by December 2026 in order to receive the full amount.
The majority of the funds have already been dispersed for projects, with $131 million appropriated. Last time the committee met in March, nearly 58% of those projects were in construction or complete. As of Monday’s meeting, that number shot up to 88%.
Iyengar said a map on ConnectLA’s website shows customers exactly where those projects are happening.
ConnectLA is now on the verge of a new grant program called GUMBO 2.0, which at full usage would be worth $1.355 billion. Iyengar said in order to fully take advantage, the U.S. Department of Commerce requires the money be assigned to a service provider for broadband infrastructure by the end of the year.
As in any GUMBO 2.0, steps were taken to improve on the first grant program. For example, in GUMBO 1.0 ConnectLA allowed internet service providers define project areas or zones that lack high speed internet service. That led to some rural areas missing out on the grants.
In GUMBO 2.0, the office made its own map of project areas so they can ensure there are no “donut holes,” as Iyengar called them.
He says they are still having conversations on how many project areas exist in the state, but so far they have found broadband-serviceable locations in every single parish, with around 141,000 total specific addresses. About 100,000 of those are households, 35,000 are businesses, and the rest are public service establishments like schools, fire stations, libraries and other government buildings.
Iyengar also specified that in the event service providers don’t bid on an area due to cost, his office has the authority to go and talk to companies and ask them what they need to encourage a bid on the area.
“Frankly, look there are project areas which might have just two locations, two addresses, where the cost of building fiber is gonna be $60,000,” Iyengar said. “And so in some of those cases, if there’s not a taker, then we’ll ensure that we find a solution for those folks.”
A new map for GUMBO 2.0 showing what provider is serving each location should be up by mid November, and public comment on the matter will begin around the same time.
Legislators on the committee commended Iyengar and ConnectLA, saying their work has made Louisiana a leader in improving internet infrastructure.
“Louisiana is number one in the country when it comes to our broadband deployment. We’re ahead of the other states,” said Rep. Daryl Deshotel, R-St. Landry.
