Updated, July 15, 2022
WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) has announced that over $24 million in broadband grant funding was awarded to projects in Arizona’s First District from funding secured under the O’Halleran-led American Rescue Plan Act.
“Rural and tribal communities in Arizona have struggled with outdated or nonexistent broadband for decades, leaving countless without access to the high-speed internet that is so often necessary for work, school, and telehealth,” said O’Halleran. “Over the past few years, I’ve led the effort to secure historic investments in broadband infrastructure in rural and tribal communities, and I’m thrilled to see these funds awarded to some of our communities most in need in the First District. I look forward to continued work with our partners at the state and local level to ensure the broadband needs of our rural, tribal, and underserved communities are met.”
Breakdown of awarded grant funding:
- Navajo County: $9,754,083*
- Apache County: $9,725,424*
- Heber-Overgaard: $4,000,000
- Coconino Project 4: $979,753*
- Kearny: $417,228
- Safford: $63,000
*Matching funds include funding provided to the county under the American Rescue Plan Act. Navajo County’s $10 million match for its project comes wholly from funds provided to the county under the American Rescue Plan Act.
The City of Safford applied for the Arizona Broadband Development Grant and awarded $63,968. This grant money will be applied to two projects. The first is a joint project with Valley Telecom that will offer free Wi-Fi in the downtown area. The second project is installing infrastructure to run fiber to Glen Meadows Park, La Tierra Park, and El Paso Park to offer free Wi-Fi in the parks.
In total, over $60 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding has been awarded for broadband projects in Arizona’s First Congressional District. Additional funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act has been dedicated to building out the middle mile network in rural Arizona, which enables last-mile connections to households and businesses. From funding received through the American Rescue Plan Act, the state has dedicated $168 million for middle mile projects on I-17, I-19, and I-40 West.
Additional broadband project awards are expected in the coming year, as funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has yet to be announced. Under that law, states will select projects to be funded and will receive allocations after the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband maps are finalized.
In March, O’Halleran sent a letter calling on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to prioritize broadband deployment in unserved rural and tribal areas and to ensure states have the flexibility needed to build networks that best fit their needs in implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
