Kansas Broadband News Update
Kansas Now Accepting Applications For $83.5 Million Capital Projects Fund Broadband Grant Program
July 26, 2022 – The Kansas Office of Broadband Development has announced it is now accepting applications for its new Capital Projects Fund broadband infrastructure grant program. The application window runs from July 26, 2022 until 5:00 pm central time on August 19, 2022. Following the close of the application window, there will be a four-week public comment and applicant response window. The total amount of funding for the program is $83.5 million. The maximum grant amount for any funded broadband project is $10 million. The program will prioritize applications for fiber-optic last-mile network projects that will serve households and businesses in unserved areas, which are defined as areas without access to reliable broadband speeds of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload. Funded broadband projects must provide broadband services with minimum speeds of 100/20 Mbps. Grantees will have two years to complete their projects. All information about the program, as well as the application portal is available on the program’s website.
Kansas Announces Broadband Grant Program Using $83.5 Million From Capital Projects Fund
July 14, 2022 – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced the launch of a new broadband grant program using $83.5 million in Capital Projects Fund money. Kansas’s Expansion of New Development Projects Offering Internet Networking & Telecommunications (ENDPOINT) program will distribute the $83.5M in the form of broadband infrastructure grants for unserved and underserved areas in Kansas. The U.S. Department of the Treasury awarded the $83.5 million in Capital Projects Fund support to Kansas to connect 21,300 homes and businesses with high-speed internet services.
The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Broadband Development will oversee the ENDPOINT program. Eligible entities include internet service providers, political subdivisions, cooperatives and non-profit organizations. Funded projects must deliver broadband service with symmetrical download and upload speeds of at least 100 Mbps. The program will prioritize fiber-optic infrastructure projects that focus on achieving last-mile connections. Middle mile will be funded only if required for the last-mile build. The application window will be open for four weeks on July 25, 2022. Grant awards will be announced in October and November.
Treasury Announces Over $350 Million In Capital Projects Fund Awards For Kansas, Maine, Maryland, And Minnesota
July 14, 2022 – The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced the approval of Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund awards for Kansas, Maine, Maryland, and Minnesota. The four awards total over $350 million and will be used by the four states to increase access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet to an estimated 84,000 homes and businesses. Each state plans to use its Capital Projects Fund award to support broadband infrastructure designed to deliver reliable internet service that meets or exceeds symmetrical download and upload speeds of 100 Mbps. The following summarizes the four state plans recently approved by Treasury:
Kansas, approved for $83.5 million (representing 58% of its available Capital Projects Fund funding), estimates it will connect 21,300 homes and businesses by building high-speed internet service in areas where there is a demonstrated need. The Broadband Acceleration Grant Program, a competitive grant program, will contribute to bridging the digital divide by providing access to reliable high-speed internet connections. Capital Projects Fund dollars will help build reliable infrastructure that is affordable in the areas the program is designed to serve.
Maine, approved for $110 million (representing 86% of its available Capital Projects Fund funding), estimates it will connect 22,500 homes and businesses by supporting the Maine Infrastructure Ready to invest in qualified locations that can be served by line extensions of existing networks or new networks. This competitive grant program is focused on serving locations that currently lack access to reliable high-speed internet access, including remote locations in Maine’s most rural counties.
Maryland, approved for $95 million (representing 55% of its available Capital Projects Fund funding), estimates it will connect 16,667 homes and businesses by supporting the Network Infrastructure Grant Program, a competitive broadband grant program that will provide funding directly to internet service providers (ISPs) for qualifying large-scale broadband projects in areas that lack service. The program aims to close the racial and socioeconomic digital divide across the state.
Minnesota, approved for $68.4 million (representing 38% of its available Capital Projects Fund funding), estimates it will connect 23,517 homes and businesses by using the funds for its Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program, a competitive grant program designed to provide financial resources for new and existing ISPs to invest in building broadband infrastructure in areas of the state that currently lack high-speed internet.
Created by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Capital Projects Fund allocates $10 billion to the Treasury Department to provide payments to states, territories, and Tribal governments “to carry out critical capital projects directly enabling work, education, and health monitoring, including remote options, in response to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).” A key priority for the program is investment in high-quality broadband infrastructure and other connectivity infrastructure, devices, and equipment.
The Treasury Department announced the first four Capital Projects Fund awards to Louisiana, New Hampshire, Virginia, and West Virginia on June 7, 2022. So far, Treasury has awarded more than $915 million in Capital Projects Fund awards to states for investment in high-speed internet infrastructure estimated to reach nearly 285,000 homes and businesses. Awards have already been approved for 50 Tribal governments. Treasury intends to continue approving state and Tribal plans on a rolling basis, but states must submit their plans to Treasury by September 24, 2022.
T-Mobile Extends Fixed Wireless Home Broadband Service To 81 Towns & Cities In Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, & Oklahoma
July 1, 2022 – T-Mobile has announced it has expanded its fixed wireless home internet access service – 5G Home Internet – to 81 cities and towns in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. According to the press release, “[w]ith this latest expansion, T-Mobile Home Internet is available to nearly 5 million more homes.” T-Mobile’s fixed wireless Home Internet service costs $50 per month with AutoPay, or $30 per month for families with T-Mobile’s Magenta MAX phone plan. The press release includes a list of the cities and towns where the service is newly available.
Bluebird Network Adds 13.63 Miles Of New Fiber In Salina, Kansas
June 7, 2022 – Communications infrastructure provider Bluebird Network has announced that a fiber expansion in Waterloo, Iowa is live, and an additional fiber expansion in Salina, Kansas is underway and will be ready for service by the end of June 2022. According to the Press Release, both “network builds have a Point of Presence (PoP) within the communities, bringing Bluebird’s full suite of services to local businesses and organizations in need of high-quality, high-speed connectivity.” With the projects, Bluebird has added 11.74 miles of fiber within Waterloo and 13.63 miles of fiber in Salina.
Midco Announces $30 Million Fiber Project In Basehor, Eudora, And Lawrence, Kansas
June 3, 2022 – Midcontinent Communications has announced it will invest $30 million over the next few years to bring a next-generation fiber network to Basehor, Eudora and Lawrence, Kansas. This is part of Midco’s Fiber Forward initiative which uses “Midco’s robust fiber network and next-gen fiber tech to deliver 10G speeds, incredible reliability and increase performance to support what’s next in revolutionary innovations.” Midco included the following details in its announcement:
Over the next few years, more than 65,000 homes and businesses in Kansas will benefit from the future-proof $30 million investment. Fiber Forward will begin this year in Basehor, Eudora and Lawrence to deliver fiber upgrades, enhanced product offerings and increased performance. The upgrade is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Mergers & Acquisitions: Nex-Tech Acquiring Moundridge Telecom Companies
May 25, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking comment on a Section 214 application filed by Emmental, Inc., Moundridge Telephone Company, Moundridge Telecom, Inc., Mid-Kansas Cable Services, Inc. (the Moundridge Companies), and Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc. dba Nex-Tech, requesting approval for the transfer of control of the Moundridge Companies to Nex-Tech. Comments are due June 8, 2022. Reply comments are due June 15, 2022.
Emmental is a holding company that provides telecommunications services through its direct and
indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, all Kansas corporations. Moundridge Telephone Company, founded in 1904, provides local exchange service and exchange access service as an incumbent local exchange carrier in the Moundridge and Goessel exchanges, which services approximately 2,100 access lines in portions of McPherson, Harvey, and Marion Counties in central Kansas. It wholly owns Moundridge Telecom, Inc., a long-distance toll service reseller providing telecommunications services in Moundridge’s local exchange service area. Mid-Kansas Cable Services, Inc. holds a certificate of convenience and authority from the Kansas Corporation Commission to provide competitive local exchange carrier services. Emmental is also the ultimate parent of two other entities that Nex-Tech “intends to acquire as part of the transaction,” but which are not FCC-regulated entities and hold no FCC authorizations or licenses.
Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc. dba Nex-Tech was organized as a cooperative in 1951, and is headquartered in Lenora, Kansas. It provides voice and broadband services, as well as cloud, managed T.T., security and surveillance, hardware and software, and backup services, itself and through subsidiaries in 39 exchanges. It also owns a 42.75% stake in Nex-Tech Wireless, LLC, a commercial mobile radio service provider.
The companies announced the transaction in April 2022. Pursuant to a stock purchase agreement, Nex-Tech will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Emmental, making Emmental a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Nex-Tech, and the other companies indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Next-Tech. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in July 2022, subject to state and federal regulatory approval.
Kansas Announces Broadband Acceleration Grant Awards
May 20, 2022 – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced that 11 companies have received a total of $5 million in funding under Kansas’ Broadband Acceleration Grant program. The 11 companies contributed $5 million in matching funds, resulting in a total investment of $10 million to bring high-speed broadband service to 10 rural Kansas counties. Kansas’ Broadband Acceleration Grant program is a ten-year, $85 million program supporting the deployment of broadband service to Kansas communities. It is administered by the Kansas Office of Broadband Development, and funded through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program. In its two years of existence, the program has resulted in the investment of more than $70 million in broadband infrastructure. Details on the 11 awards are below:
Mergers & Acquisitions: Boulevard Digital (Alinda Holdings) Acquiring Consolidated Communications Enterprise Services’ Kansas City Customers And Assets
April 20, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau is seeking public comment on a Section 214 application filed by Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc., Consolidated Communications Enterprise Services Inc. (CCES), and Boulevard Digital LLC (Boulevard Digital) requesting approval for the acquisition of certain customers and assets of CCES in Kansas and Missouri within the Kansas City metropolitan area and surrounding counties and municipalities by Boulevard Digital. Comments are due on or before May 4, 2022. Reply comments are due May 11, 2022.
CCES is a Delaware corporation that is ultimately controlled by Consolidated Communications Holdings. In the Kansas City market, CCES provides competitive telecommunications services to approximately 19,000 consumer voice subscribers, 13,000 consumer broadband subscribers, and 1,900 commercial subscribers, utilizing approximately 1,230 fiber route miles. CCES’ Kansas City business serves the following Kansas municipalities: Fairway, Kansas City, Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Shawnee, Westwood, and Westwood Hills. In Missouri, it serves Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, and North Kansas City.
Boulevard Digital is a Delaware limited liability company that was formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the CCES assets. Boulevard Digital is owned by various limited partnerships managed by and controlled by Alinda Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and investment entity.
Mergers & Acquisitions: Clearwave Fiber Purchasing Assets Of Kansas Broadband Provider RG Fiber
March 24, 2022 – Clearwave Fiber has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of RG Fiber, a fiber network service provider located in Northeast Kansas. RG Fiber was founded in 2014 to provide higher-speed broadband service in Baldwin City, Kansas. It has a fiber network that spans over 100 miles, and currently provides services to Eurdora, De Soto, Edgerton, Gardner, Spring Hill, Lawrence and Wellsville, Kansas. With its more than 2,000 route-mile fiber network, Clearwave Fiber provides broadband Internet access services in towns and cities across the Midwest and Southeast regions of the U.S. Through the acquisition, Clearwave Fiber is making its initial entry into Kansas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
