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American Rescue Plan Act - State Fiscal Recovery Funds

Schedule of Events for ARPA SFRF
On May 13, 2022, Governor Henry McMaster signed H.4408 [↗], which included an allocation of $400 million to the Office of Regulatory Staff -- South Carolina Broadband Office for the purpose of deploying broadband infrastructure.

All American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds must be awarded through competitive grant processes.  The SC Broadband Office accepted grant applications from June 30, 2022 through August 31, 2022 to provide financial assistance to install and deliver broadband infrastructure in high priority unserved areas throughout the State.  Applications received may be viewed below under the "ARPA SFRF Applications" drop-down menu.

This program, depending on the number of qualified applications, may award approximately $180,000,000 of the allocated ARPA funds.

All approved challenges have been aggregated into a new GIS data layer titled “Approved March 31, 2022 Eligibility Map Challenges.”  This data is to be used in conjunction with the March 31, 2022 Broadband Eligibility Map.  Census blocks in the Approved Map Challenges layer supersede the corresponding census blocks in the March 31, 2022 Broadband Eligibility Map.  At this time, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should not consider census blocks that were successfully challenged as available for grant funding.  ISPs and Stakeholders that have filled out the Data Access Request Form have been granted access to download the data through the ORS Citrix ShareFile site or through SCDigitalDrive.org.  For more information, click here. 

Click the drop-down menus below for additional information.

ARPA SFRF Program Documents

ARPA SFRF Guidelines and Attachments - (PDF) Revised 5.31.2023

Grant Application and Budget Summary - (XLS)

Affidavit for ARPA 1.0 Priority Areas Grant - (DOC)

ARPA SFRF Grant Agreement and Exhibits - (PDF) Revised 11.15.2022

SCBBO Funded Project Register - (PDF)

SCBBO Funded Project Register - Engineering Timeline Example - (XLS)

Affidavit for ARPA Funded Project Register (FPR) - (DOC)

SCBBO Fabric Versioning Policy - (PDF) Updated 6.9.2023

ARPA SFRF Eligibility Map

Map Challenges to the March 2022 Broadband Eligibility Map have been evaluated by the Office of Broadband Coordinator. All approved challenges have been aggregated into a new GIS data layer and an excel file named "Approved March 31, 2022 Eligibility Map Challenges." This data is to be used in conjunction with the March 31, 2022 Broadband Eligibility Map. Census blocks in the Approved Map Challenges layer supersede the corresponding census blocks in the March 31, 2022 Broadband Eligibility Map.

At this time, ISPs should not consider census blocks that were successfully challenged as available for grant funding.  ISPs and Stakeholders that have filled out the Data Access Request Form have been granted access to download the data through the ORS Citrix ShareFile site or through SC Digital Drive.  The Data Access Request Form can be found here: https://arcg.is/1fiq1j.  Data can also be viewed through the Eligibility Web Mapping Application available here: https://arcg.is/TGL0X

Click here to download a copy of the approved March 31, 2022 eligibility map with challenges.

Please email broadband@ors.sc.gov for questions around accessing GIS data for download.

ARPA SFRF Applications

The list below contains all applications that were received by ORS for the ARPA SFRF grant program, which was announced on June 30, 2022.  All grant applications are in PDF format, and sensitive financial information has been redacted.  Please note that no funding decisions have been made at this time. ORS has a rigorous evaluation process, which will not finalize until late December 2022.

During the evaluation process, the ORS is unable to take calls relating to any specific application or Internet Service Provider (ISP). This is known as a “Quiet Period.”  Since phone calls are not allowed, ORS has opened the Comment Period whereby anyone may provide written feedback by October 5, 2022. To participate in the Comment Period, please e-mail broadband@ors.sc.gov.  Note: If challenging the veracity of a grant application, additional evidence may be requested to support assertions made in the Comment Period. Filling out the form alone will not be enough to properly substantiate application deficiencies.

ISPs have been provided an opportunity to comment on their own grant application(s).  Where comments were provided, they are linked immediately below each application.

 

VIEW MAP OF SUBMITTED PROJECTS

 

Application List (by Provider)

Comments Received During ARPA SFRF Comment Period
ARPA SFRF Presentation Materials - NEW

Eligibility Map Challenge PowerPoint from 6/17/2022 WebEx (PDF)

ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds Overview from 6/24/2022 WebEx (PDF)

ARPA GIS PowerPoint Presentation from 8/11/2022 WebEx (PDF)

ARPA SLFRF - Rules and Requirements 12/8/2022 WebEx (Video)

ORS Contractor Webinar PowerPoint Presentation 12/8/2022 (PDF)

ARPA SLFRF 1.0 Grant Program Update Webinar 3/15/2023

ARPA SLFRF Fiber Build / Permitting Webinar 3/28/2023

Data Dictionary

ARPA GIS Data Dictionary

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQs Rev. 8/30/2022 (PDF)

ARPA SLFRF Compliance FAQs (PDF)

ORS Contractor Webinar 12/8/2022 FAQs (PDF)

Reporting

The files in this field contain reporting requirements that the Office of Regulatory Staff must provide to the US Treasury on a quarterly and/or annual basis.

August 2022 - (PDF)

Map Challenge Purpose

The purpose of this process is to challenge unserved locations on the SC Broadband Office's 03/2022 eligibility map.  To be considered “served”, 80% of housing units within the Internet Service Provider (ISP)-designated challenged 2020 census block(s) must have standard broadband service available at reliable speeds of 25/3 Mbps download/upload, and the residence must be served by fiber or cable only (no DSL). 

Additionally, there can be no additional cost to the owner or occupant requesting service.  If the broadband customer is or may be required to bear additional costs to construct a drop or line to the residence, then the structure is considered unserved.  Challenge areas such as this may be considered unserved by the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS).  

Map Challenge Process

GIS template data formatted in a manner set forth by the ORS AND sufficient evidence the network is functional will be required for a successful challenge.

Acceptable examples of sufficient evidence include geotagged photos of speed tests, geotagged photos of active construction, or billing statements coincident in the challenged area. Template GIS data for download will be available on the ORS Citrix file share site. Access will be granted to ISPs upon request that have filled out the Data Access Request form, found here: https://arcg.is/1fiq1j 

ISPs must fill out the Map Challenge form, located here: https://arcg.is/0LfnyC  

Evidence must be uploaded to the Citrix File Share under the ARPA Map Challenge folder, filling out the form alone will not be a sufficient means of securing a successful outcome of a challenged census block.

Required items: 

  • Completed Data Access Request Form  https://arcg.is/1fiq1j
  • Map Challenge Form filled out in its entirety https://arcg.is/0LfnyC
  • GIS Template data rendered in the challenged census block(s), to include:
    • Census block layer
    • Provider Service Area
    • Housing Units which either have access or are accessible with no AIC
    • Fiber/Cable Lines
  • Sufficient evidence including but not limited to geotagged photos of speed tests, geotagged photos of active construction, or billing statements coincident in the challenged area uploaded to the ORS Citrix File Share ARPA Map Challenge Directory

Upon review of the challenge, and additional information uploaded to the ORS Citrix File Share, the ORS will issue a written determination concerning the challenge. Such determination shall be final and binding. Email will be deemed a sufficient means of communicating the final determination. Results may also be published on the ORS website.

Challenges are due no later than 6/30/2022 at 5:00PM. Please email broadband@ors.sc.gov if you have any questions.