On Monday, July 14, the Arkansas State Broadband Office (ARConnect) successfully closed the Arkansas BEAD Program’s “Benefit of the Bargain” Round, receiving 728 applications from 33 different providers.
Newton County is slated to receive a share of this round of federal funding Arkansas receives to provide access to high-speed internet service. ARConnect says Newton County has 5,300 identified locations in need of high-speed internet access.
Previously, on April 23, ARConnect successfully completed all competitive bidding rounds under the prior version of the program, reaching 100% coverage of 84,000 underconnected homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions. Newton County was included in that bidding.
A June 6 revised policy notice from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the program’s federal administering agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce, required all states rerun their bidding processes.
“From the very beginning, our team worked to make the Arkansas BEAD Program one of the most investment attractive programs in the country,” said Glen Howie, Arkansas State Broadband Director. “This again has proven true. Arkansas remains on pace to reach 100% coverage, still be ahead of schedule, and still deliver one of the best BEAD programs in the country.”
In the just completed Benefit of the Bargain Round, 99.9% of all eligible locations received at least one bid, with 99% of eligible locations receiving bids from multiple providers. Bids were received from internet service providers (ISP) across the technology spectrum, including fiber, cable, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite, as well as licensed, licensed-by-rule, and unlicensed fixed wireless.
As the State continues its bid evaluation process, high-level results are expected to be released later this month.
The State anticipates releasing its Final Proposal document outlining all statewide awards for public comment in August. Arkansas will then submit the Final Proposal to NTIA by September 4 for federal approval.
Newton County's sparse population and its mostly mountainous terrain makes the cost of building out the infrastructure a deterrent, Howie said candidly.
"But this is a mandate," Howie reminded. According to a financial model, the cost to connect every location in Newton County would total $39.34 million.
The federal program allows ISP to have four years for construction, but Howie is calling for the project to be completed in two years, due to delays and changes made in the program at the federal level since Newton County was asked to participate almost three years ago.
