NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana leads the way in the deployment of federal broadband dollars made available through the three-year-old Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The state’s broadband office head attributes that success to what Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has described as a “maniacally efficient” focus on getting dollars out the door and broadband built in a state where nearly 30% of the residents live in rural areas.
“We have a great legislature that’s absolutely committed to solving the digital divide,” Veneeth Iyengar, executive director of Louisiana’s broadband office, said Wednesday at a legislative conference. “They’ve helped us remove any of the bureaucratic friction that exists in executing these federal funds, but we also have a governor that has been really proactive in helping to address the challenges.”
Louisiana has led the country at each step of the way in the federal government’s $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, also known as BEAD. Of the state’s $1.35 billion allocation, $750 million is earmarked for broadband infrastructure and the remaining funds reserved for other priorities such as beefing up virtual learning opportunities for Louisiana students.
Last month, Louisiana became the first state to award provisional grants to internet service providers to do the work of connecting an estimated 140,000 households, small businesses, and community anchor institutions such as schools and libraries that don’t have access to high-quality internet.
“Where [broadband] offices often fail is … if there’s too much of a bureaucratic friction that occurs between getting internet service providers the funds to build quickly,” Iyengar said.
Louisiana officials say their efforts are rooted in wanting to demonstrate to unserved and underserved communities that the government can be relied upon to deliver a vital service.
“There was a sense of mistrust,” said Sen. Beth Mizell (R) who co-authored bipartisan legislation in 2020 to create the state’s broadband office.
Federal funding from the Covid-era American Rescue Plan propelled the office’s initial work.
“When people started seeing the [broadband] trucks going down the road, it was a totally different vibe coming from the citizens,” Mizell said. “I’m stopped at church, I’m stopped in the grocery store by people I don’t know just to say, ‘I got it, I’m connected.’ It’s the most wonderful thing because now we can compete.”
Both Mizell and Iyengar spoke at the Council of State Governments national conference during a breakout session on innovative ways states are spending federal infrastructure dollars.
Louisiana’s broadband office, ConnectLA, is a four-person operation. Iyengar said his staff spends considerable time traveling to the state’s 64 parishes to learn what they need. In some places it is access to broadband, but elsewhere it is affordability, digital literacy services or device access.
One concern about the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program has been whether it will benefit large legacy internet service providers at the expense of smaller operators. Iyengar said Louisiana created small project areas with the goal of generating more competition.
As a result, he said, 75% of Louisiana’s grant dollars have been awarded to local companies.
The biggest recipient is a consortium of two local fiber providers plus wireless provider T-Mobile.
Grant applicants that prioritized underground fiber and hurricane resiliency received more points in the scoring process. Nearly 96% of the approved projects are for fiber broadband. The hardest to reach areas will be served by either fixed wireless or satellite, Iyengar said.
Asked for his advice to other states, Iyengar said: “Don’t be overly prescriptive. We’re going to all make mistakes. … Just keep going, and if we need to make changes, then you make changes over time.”