COLUMBIA, SC — The South Carolina Broadband Office (SCBBO) is pleased to announce a strong response to the most recent ARPA 3.0 grant cycle, funded through the American Rescue Plan Act’s (ARPA) State & Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF). Sixty (60) project applications, from 17 Internet Service Providers (ISP), were received by the March 25 deadline, representing a total funding request of $132,942,527. This amount does not include funding matches, which are required from all ISPs.
After a rigorous evaluation by the SCBBO, awards will be granted to select projects, and Notices to Proceed are anticipated for June 2024. All timely and complete SLFRF grant applications are posted here. The SCBBO welcomes public comment through April 11, 2024. An interactive map of submitted projects by provider is available for convenience. To make a comment on any of these applications, please click here.
The remaining portion of South Carolina’s $214.2 million SLFRF allocation will be used to fund these projects. When complete, this investment represents the final commitment of the $400 million of ARPA-related broadband infrastructure funds that were allocated by the SC General Assembly in Act 244 (May 2022).
“We are extremely pleased with the response we received for these final SLFRF applications and appreciate the continued participation of ISPs as we work together to solve South Carolina’s digital divide,” said Jim Stritzinger, Director of the SCBBO. “We are grateful for the care that each ISP has taken to craft extremely cost-effective/high-impact applications in this final round of ARPA.”
In addition, the SCBBO is pleased to announce that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved BEAD Volume 1, and the BEAD Challenge Process will officially launch on April 15, 2024.
All ISPs, units of local government, and non-profit organizations are encouraged to participate in the BEAD Challenge; however, individual representatives from the listed organizations must pre-register here by May 14, 2024, to issue challenges or submit rebuttals.
“This is an exciting time for broadband in South Carolina,” said Andrew Bateman, Acting Executive Director of the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff. “I am proud that we are following our legislative mandate and deploying our remaining ARPA funds. I commend my team for obtaining Volume 1 approval. This step is a prerequisite for South Carolina to receive an additional $546 million of federal broadband funding. Together, ARPA and BEAD will work toward permanently ending our state’s digital divide.”
More information can be found at ors.sc.gov/broadband.
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The SCBBO is housed within the state’s Office of Regulatory Staff. It serves as the central broadband planning body to coordinate with federal, state, regional, local, and private entities, to the extent practicable, to engage in the continued deployment of broadband in the state.