INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Eric J. Holcomb announced Friday an additional $81.5 million in the final round of the Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program. Overall, the program is the largest investment of its kind in the country. The latest round will provide broadband infrastructure to more than 34,000 homes and commercial locations in 54 counties across Indiana.
“The first-of-its-kind broadband grant program has connected thousands of Hoosiers in nearly every corner of the state,” Gov. Holcomb said. “It has been a model program that other states have tried to replicate to solve the inequitable technology gap in the country. The program ensures that every resident has access to information, which unlocks the door to opportunity and leads to a brighter better-connected future.”
The fourth round of the grant program leveraged 17 telecommunications providers and utility cooperatives contributing more than $135 million in matching funds, resulting in more than $216 million total investment for broadband.
A handful of local counties, including Bartholomew, Shelby, Morgan, and Decatur, received funds in the latest round of grants.
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs administers and oversees the program and will work with service providers in the coming weeks on the next steps in the grant process.
The Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program is part of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s $1 billion Next Level Connections infrastructure program, which accelerates the completion of major highway projects, expands access to rural broadband services, creates more nonstop flights, and pursues the expansion of rail projects in northwest Indiana.
A list of the awards and a map of Next Level Connections round four awards can be found here.
