15 CAR § 193-102 – Purpose and qualification for receiving American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds

(a)
1. (1) The purpose of this addendum is to harmonize with recent federal guidance as it relates to dispensing American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2, funds, including funding through State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, for the expansion of broadband network infrastructure for the unserved and underserved areas of Arkansas.
2. (2) Unserved and underserved areas are locations without access to a reliable wireline connection of 100/20 Mbps.
(b)
1. (1) All American Rescue Plan Act of 2021-approved projects funded through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund must be able to provide synchronous bandwidths of one hundred megabits per second (100 Mbps) download and one hundred megabits per second (100 Mbps) upload.
2. (2) Where impractical due to geographical, topographical, or financial constraints the upload speed can be as low as twenty megabits per second (20 Mbps) but must be scalable to one hundred megabits per second (100 Mbps) in such instances.
3. (3) Whenever bandwidths are asynchronous, the internet service provider (ISP) must submit a letter detailing why the upload speeds cannot be obtained at one hundred megabits per second (100 Mbps), and the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office (“broadband office”) will determine if the ISP letter is approved for the requested bandwidth modification.
(c)
1. (1) All American Rescue Plan Act of 2021-approved projects funded through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund must be able to provide synchronous bandwidths of one hundred megabits per second (100 Mbps) download and one hundred megabits per second (100 Mbps) upload.
2. (2) Projects funded through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund will not permit temporary, asynchronous speeds allowed under the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.
(d)
1. (1) Priority will be given to fiber-optic infrastructures where feasible, as such advanced technology better supports scalability to meet expected increases in bandwidth demand.
2. (2) Regardless of technology infrastructure deployed, the ISP must demonstrate that it will reliably deliver a minimum of 100/20 Mbps in the case of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund-funded projects, and 100/100 Mbps in the case of Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund-funded service throughout the service area.
3. (3) The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 program also requires the ISP to submit its customer pricing list with its project application.
4. (4) The ISP is also required to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program.
5. (5) As indicated below, affordability of broadband service will be a significant factor in determining grant awards.
6. (6) Applications that include at least one (1) low-cost option (less than fifty dollars ($50.00) per month) at speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps without data usage caps or the obligation to purchase bundled services will be awarded extra points in the scoring rubric.
7. (7) Applicants must include with their application a narrative demonstrating that their proposed pricing is affordable for consumers in the proposed project service area.
(e)
1. (1) The broadband office or its designee will define:
  1. (A) Project areas available for grant awards;
  2. (B) Funding source (i.e., State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund or Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund); and
  3. (C) Deadlines for submitting applications.
2. (2) Each project area will be composed of full and partial census blocks identified as unserved and underserved areas in the broadband master plan defined by a set of polygons in a GIS shapefile.
3. (3) It is anticipated that multiple applicants will submit applications for each project area.
(f)
1. (1) All applicants must have a System for Award Management (SAM) number issued by the federal government to participate in the ARC program.
2. (2) ISPs must submit with their applications:
  1. (A) Audited financial statements made by an independent certified public accountant for the past two (2) years or, in the absence of audited financial statements, such other financial and operational documentation reasonably acceptable to the broadband office that demonstrates:
(i) The financial stability of the applicant; and
1. (ii) Its ability to fulfill the obligations under the grant agreement; and
  1. (B)
    1. (i) The endorsement of the application by each mayor or county judge within the proposed project area.
    2. (ii) It is expected that each mayor and county judge may endorse multiple applications.
    3. (iii) If the ISP is unable to secure the endorsement of a mayor or the county judge, then it must submit with its application a statement to that effect along with:
(a) (a) A description of its efforts to obtain an endorsement; and
(b) (b) The reason, if any, that was given as to why an endorsement was not provided by the mayor or county judge.
(g)
1. (1) Each project will be scored using eight (8) different scoring metrics:
  1. (A) Speed of service, ten percent (10%) of total score;
  2. (B) Future-proof, ten percent (10%) of total score;
  3. (C) Quality of coverage, i.e., reliability and scalability of service, fifteen percent (15%) of total score;
  4. (D) Time to deploy, fifteen percent (15%) of total score;
  5. (E) Qualifications/experience/financial strength of applicant, ten percent (10%) of total score;
  6. (F) Applicant’s contribution toward project costs, ten percent (10%) of score;
  7. (G) Cost of project, fifteen percent (15%) of total score; and
  8. (H) Affordability of service to the consumer, fifteen percent (15%) of total score.
2. (2)
  1. (A) The maximum score for this rubric is one hundred (100) points.
  2. (B) All projects will be scored individually, with the highest scored applications receiving ARC grant funding awards.
  3. (C) There is no minimum or maximum limit on project size or dollar amount requested for ARC grant program applications, but overall project cost is a key factor of consideration.
3. (3)
  1. (A) Where there is a tie for project awards the broadband office or its designee will make an administrative decision as to which project it will award.
  2. (B) The broadband office or its designee will consider the scores for the most important factors such as project price, quality of service, deployment timeline, and affordability of service to the consumer to break ties.
  3. (C) Next, if the tie is not resolved, the broadband office or its designee will consider:
    1. (i) The mayor and county judge project preferences; and
    2. (ii) Customer service complaints made to the broadband office or its designee.
4. (4)
  1. (A) Please keep in mind that verified customer complaints, depending on nature or frequency, from prior or present ARC projects could result in an application not being awarded an ARC grant no matter the project score.
  2. (B) This is also true if the broadband office learns of verified complaints from customers from an ISP’s preexisting network or networks.
5. (5)
  1. (A) All projects for application submissions will be subject to a challenge process.
  2. (B) See 15 CAR § 193-107.
(h)
1. (1) Qualified project areas subject to ARC grant funding must not have a federal commitment, i.e., a grant from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that will provide a reliable wireline connection of at least 100/20 Mbps.
2. (2) Each ISP applicant receiving a grant using American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds will guarantee broadband service to the citizens of Arkansas, within its project footprint, for a minimum of ten (10) years from the time of completed infrastructure deployment.
3. (3) Grant awardees who fail to reliably deliver service within the project footprint for the required ten-year period will be subject to the penalty provisions of the Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program rule, 15 CAR pt. 189.

Codification Notes: "ARC" means Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program. "ISP" means internet service provider.