Funding and Partnership Opportunities

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Universal Service High-Cost Program

The FCC High-Cost Program is designed to expand access to voice and broadband services. Like the expansion of electricity and phone service to rural America in the early twentieth century, and construction of an interstate highway system in the 1950s and 60s, the program is meant to bring the benefits of broadband to all Americans by providing direct subsidies to service providers to lower the cost of building new network infrastructure or performing network upgrades.

The fund focuses specifically on rural areas.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Auction 903

The FCC created the Connect America Fund (CAF) in 2012. In the first phase, about $115 million of public funding was coupled with tens of millions more in private investment to quickly expand broadband infrastructure to rural communities in every region of the nation.

Now in its second phase, the CAF has continued to bring faster speeds to more homes across the US, particularly to rural communities. The CAF Phase II started with the Auction 903 program which ran from July 2018 to August 2018.

The program resulted in 103 bidders winning $1.49 billion over 10 years to provide fixed broadband service to 700,000 locations across 45 states.

See the winning locations on the map below via the layer labeled "FCC Auction 903 winners."

Auction 904 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)

Building off of the success of CAF, the FCC designed the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The first phase of the auction, which began on October 29, 2020, and ended on November 25, 2020, awarded support to bring broadband to homes and businesses through download speeds of at least 25 Mbps.

There were 180 winning bidders in the auction, with the 10-year support amount totaling $9.23 billion and covering 5,220,833 locations in 49 states and one territory. In the 13-county Houston-Galveston region, bidders received $46.1 million to bring service to 48,983 locations.

View a list of the H-GAC region's winning 904 bidders and awards by county.

See the winning locations on the map below via the layer labeled "FCC Auction 904 Winners"

Next Steps for FCC Auction 904

Companies who accepted Phase II support determine their own deployment schedule and plan for covered areas, not the FCC. Moreover, not every household that is located in an area where the service provider is eligible for the support is guaranteed access.

While service providers must offer voice and broadband services to a required number of locations within the covered areas, they have the flexibility to choose which locations will be offered service.

Although the winning bidders have been announced, many bidders won areas in multiple counties, and in some cases they won awards across several states. Additionally, many bidders were not solely service providers but large, loosely formed multi-sector partnerships.

Directly contact winning bidders will remain a challenge until more information is released in the coming months as long forms are completed. H-GAC will continue to report out as information is made available about how to approach awardees.

However, local governments can prepare and position your community for the deployment and constructions phases to come by following steps laid out in the Service Availability page.

Vertical Assets

Conduct an inventory of vertical assets that can accommodate fixed wireless equipment (e.g. 4G LTE or 5G). The Public Infrastructure Projects and Facilities Map below shows the locations of cell towers in the region.

More Information Regarding Cell Towers

Locations of cell towers within the Gulf Coast Regional 9-1-1 Emergency Communications District for Brazoria, Chambers, Colorado, Liberty, Matagorda, Walker, Waller, and Wharton counties are included in the map below.

If you are interested in leveraging cell towers for the expansion of fixed wireless solutions, the Houston-Galveston Area Council's Data Services team can connect you to local partners. Please identify which towers are of interest by Latitude & Longitude and reach out to us.

Public vertical assets should be identified to add a stronger, denser network cell sites to support network expansion and can also be used to generate revenue through leases, including:

• Water towers
• Tall buildings
• Community facilities or civic buildings
• Utility poles

Vertical Asset Leases Resources

If you are open to using public vertical assets to support internet service providers network expansion or enhancement, the following resources can support structuring that leasing or licensing agreement:

• Tips to Maximize Your Water Tower Lease

• Presentation on Wireless In the Rights of Way and on Public Property

• Understanding Small Cell Opportunities & Leases

• City of Trenton Municipal Code Chapter 34 on Small Wireless Facilities

• MSC Resources for Leasing of Government Property for Siting of Telecommunications Facilities

• Considerations for Evaluation of Public-Private Partnership models

Public Infrastructure

Leverage planned public infrastructure projects or developments to accommodate service providers' network expansions. The map below shows possible points of leverage to develop public private partnerships such as:

• Infrastructure projects that accommodate the laying of fiber lines (e.g. state highways or regional thoroughfares),
• Planned development projects which allow for quickly deploying fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP),
• Census tracts that have been awarded federal grants or subsidies to expand infrastructure. Public infrastructure projects in these areas present a low-hanging fruit to align public and private investments.

More Information Regarding State Highway Projects

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) provides notice on their website of ongoing and planned highway construction projects to accommodate voluntary joint-trenching opportunities in the state’s right-of-way. TxDOT has provided all relevant information for utility companies, including telecommunications providers, interested in joint trenching in the Texas DOT Utility Accommodations Toolkit.

The map below will help you identify potential joint-trenching opportunities and includes project and timeline information from the TxDOT Project Tracker.

H-GAC Regional Thoroughfares Plan

H-GAC's Regional Thoroughfares were developed through long-range planning for the location and type of roadway facilities that are needed to meet projected long-term growth within the area.

The Thoroughfare Plan is not a list of construction projects but rather a tool to enable counties and cities to preserve corridors for transportation system development as the need arises. These projects are mapped below for an understanding of likely future development patterns and needs for future connectivity. They may be good opportunities for mid-mile connections for fiber lines or proactively laying fiber conduit.

Visit H-GAC's Regional Thoroughfares Plan website for more information.

Use of Public Right-of-Way Resources

• Subdivision Ordinances for including broadband in future development

  • Model Ordinance from City of Celina, TX

  • Model Ordinance from City of Frisco, TX

• Dig Once or Dig Smart policies install broadband infrastructure when the street is opened for construction. This lowers costs and decreases interruptions in the public right-of-way.

  • Policies and Ordinances that Facilitate Broadband Deployment

  • Model Dig Once Ordinance from SCCOG

  • Texas DOT Utility Accommodations Toolkit

  • Dig Once Model Legislation from Dura-Line

The following programs grant programs support a broad range of solutions. Local governments can support them through raising awareness, providing match funding, and facilitating partnerships for developing consortia to increase applicant competitiveness in grant applications.

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Telecommunications Programs

ReConnect
The ReConnect program is USDA's largest federal grant program (grants up to $25 million) that supports the expansion of fiber, cable, or fixed wireless solutions to a range of users in remote, rural areas.

While the awards are granted directly to service providers, service providers are incentivized to work collaboratively with local governments to ensure that connections are made to critical community facilities (schools, healthcare, civic buildings, emergency facilities) and businesses in the proposed service areas. This program is likely to open in approximately Q3 of 2021. 

Community Connect
Community Connect offers grants for mid-mile connections to central community facilities for fixed wireless solutions that connect businesses and residents around the facility to service. While the awards are granted directly to service providers, service providers are incentivized to work collaboratively with local governments to design the service improvement plan. 

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

NTIA Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Grants
In the most recent federal consolidated appropriations bill, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) was allocated $288 million dollars to promote infrastructure deployment in rural areas. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was released in May 2021 and applications were no longer accepted on August 17, 2021. The NTIA received over 230 applications and requests for $2.3 billion in funding. The NTIA has released lists of Census Blocks and Proposed Service Areas for applications received. 

NTIA Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program
In the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) was allocated $285 million for a pilot program to help students and communities in underserved areas connect to the internet through affordable broadband service. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was released on August 3, 2021. Applications are due via grants.gov by December 2, 2021. View August 18, 2021 Informational Webinar.

Local governments can promote awareness of the pilot program to the community's eligible organizations and support their ability to identify communities in need.

Subscribe to the Gulf Coast Economic Development District newsletter to receive announcements on notices of funding for this program.

Watch the March 2021 Webinar on all NTIA Grant Programs within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program
The recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 provides new sources of tribal broadband funding to assist in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which is exacerbating the digital divide across tribal communities.

With the designated funding, NTIA is in the process of developing the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) that will make grants available to eligible entities as quickly as possible.

The $1 billion TBCP will provide funding for the following broadband infrastructure deployment and affordable broadband programs, including:

• providing free or reduced-cost broadband service
• preventing disconnection of existing broadband service
• distance learning
• telehealth
• digital inclusion efforts
• broadband adoption activities.

View a NTIA webinar on the program.

Federal Communications Commission

Healthcare and Education Providers
Healthcare Providers and Education Providers may apply for subsidies for devices and service via long-standing federal programs, additional annual appropriations, and recent Covid-19 disaster relief supplemental programs targeting rural healthcare.

However, most of these programs require matching funds or upfront capital. Local governments can lead efforts to develop partnerships for raising capital, supplying match funding, or engaging service providers for planning capital investment.

Institutions tend to be more successful in accessing awards when they apply through consortia or partnerships.

View Healthcare Provider funding opportunities, or view Education Provider funding opportunities. 

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program was created by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, with $3.2 billion allocated to the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund to support the program.

The program gives funding directly to internet service providers to discount services or devices for eligible users. The Emergency Broadband Benefit program will provide a discount of up to $50 per month toward broadband service or a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.

Local governments can support service providers' distribution of funds through outreach or identification of priority users.

Read more about the FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. 

Universal Service Fund E-Rate and Rural Health Care Programs
Universal service programs give healthcare and education providers access to rebates that subsidize the purchase of devices and service. These long-standing federal programs have received additional annual appropriations and recent COVID-19 disaster relief supplements targeting rural healthcare.

However, most of these programs require matching funds or upfront capital. Local governments can lead efforts to form a consortia to increase resources, develop partnerships for raising capital, supply match funding, or engage service providers for planning capital investment.

Institutions tend to be more successful in accessing awards when they apply through consortia or partnerships.

View Healthcare Provider funding opportunities or view Education Provider funding opportunities.

Other Federal Programs

Economic Development Administration (EDA) - Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance
The Economic Development Administration provides grants that support job creation and retention in the private sector through a range of grant programs, including infrastructure investments like broadband.

Consider adding accommodations for broadband in any EDA funding application for critical infrastructure targeting employment growth or adjustments to economic realities.

Keep in mind that the EDA will require that whomever receives the award must be the entity to own and maintain the infrastructure, and the EDA does not make direct grants to private entities. The partnership approach - including ownership, operation and maintenance agreements - must be very clearly delineated within an application.