Rule 413-9-1-.09. Award Criteria

1. A) The award criteria is consistent with statute described in O.C.G.A. § 50-40-81, which states that the Authority shall consider each of the following in the funding awards process:

   1. (1) The effectiveness of the partnership between an eligible applicant and a qualified broadband provider;
   2. (2) The benefit to the unserved area in terms of the population served and the capacity and scalability of the technology to be deployed; and
   3. (3) The total project cost and the ability to leverage other available federal, local, and private funds.

2. B) Ratings and Selection Criteria:

   Category Total Available Points A) Social Impact 24 B) Economic Impact 12 C) Project Capital 28 D) Broadband Ready 8 E) Broadband Partner 38 Total Points Available 110

   1. A) Social Impact: (Up To 24 Points Available) Applications will be awarded "impact" points based on factors intended to demonstrate the societal impact of such project. Factors include, but are not limited to, the number of unserved locations to be served, the overall "served" vs. "unserved" nature of the county/counties included in the project, and the most recent tier status (based on job tax tiers published annually by DCA) of the county/counties include in the project area. A map of the proposed project identifying unserved locations will be required.

   2. B) Economic Impact (Up To 12 Points Available) Applications will also be awarded "impact" points based on a quality and realistic narrative describing the following economic impact criteria:

      1. i. Assessment of needs;
      2. ii. Anticipated benefits, direct and indirect, to the proposed service area as a result of the proposed project;

      3. iii. Specific impact to local and regional facilities, such as:

         1. a) Industrial parks
         2. b) Education centers
         3. c) Health care facilities
         4. d) Farms
         5. e) Government buildings
         6. f) Public safety departments
         7. g) Other providers of public services
      4. iv. How the availability of broadband service will enhance small business owners' and entrepreneurs' ability to compete in a global economy; and
      5. v. How the proposed project will likely result in the enhancement of the public workforce through the facilitation of online and distance learning resources to support education, job training and skill upgrades in rural Georgia.

   3. C) Project Capital (Up To 28 Points Available) Applications will be awarded points based on financial and capital-related evaluations as compared to baselines established by the Authority, as well as the project's general capital structure. Evaluation of projects will include analysis of the amount of capital investment requested of OneGeorgia (requests for more than 50% of total capital will be considered on an exceptional basis), the amount of other state or federal funding that has been committed to or being pursued by the applicant for the project, the financial commitment from the provider and local community, and the average capital cost per unserved location in the proposed project area, where such information is available.

      Applicants must provide the Authority with the following details in documentation for the evaluation of project total and capital costs:

      1. i. Identify all proposed eligible capital costs and costs directly related to the purchase or lease of property or communications services or facilities, including without limitation backhaul and transport, to facilitate the provision of broadband services.
      2. ii. Verify project costs through original source documents, architectural and engineering reports, or certified appraisals.
      3. iii. A map of the proposed service area identifying the unserved area and number of locations using the Georgia broadband mapping and the latest published FCC broadband data will be required.

   4. D) Broadband Ready (8 Points Available).

      Applications will be awarded Broadband Ready points if the communities within the proposed unserved area have been designated as a Broadband Ready Community in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 50-40-40 by adopting:

      1. i. A Comprehensive Plan that includes a broadband element to ensure that a community adopts a strategy that demonstrates the promotion of broadband in accordance with O.C.G.A. § 50-8-2, et seq.; and
      2. ii. A model ordinance or equivalent that signals a local unit of government has taken steps to reduce obstacles to broadband infrastructure investment.

   5. E) Broadband Partner (Up To 38 points available): Applications will be awarded points based on two sub-categories related to qualified broadband providers: Partner Capabilities and Sustainable Business Case.

      1. I. Partner Capabilities (Up To 14 Points Available): Prior to application submission, applicants are required to demonstrate an effective partnership with a qualified broadband provider who has the expertise, experience and financing to design, develop, construct, maintain and provide retail broadband services (both residential and commercial) for the proposed project.

         Applications will be evaluated based upon the provider selection process, the partnership between the community and the provider, the provider's history of supporting the Georgia Broadband Deployment Initiative and broadband mapping program, and the provider's demonstration of financial, technical, and operational capacity to operate the proposed broadband network.

      2. II. Sustainable Business Case (Up To 24 Points Available): In addition to the qualified broadband provider's capabilities, the application will receive points based on the provider's willingness to commit to certain service requirements and standards.

         Business Plan (Up To 8 Points Available): Applications should include essential elements of a business plan, including description of the need for broadband, description of community(ies) to be served; existing levels of connectivity and the costs of those services; a summary of the extent of community engagement to the proposed broadband deployment, details on potential number of users of broadband access, details on the kind of broadband-dependent services that may be provided as a result of broadband access, overview of proposed project management, the appropriateness and availability of the proposed technological solution, a plan for proposed implementation of the network including a timeline with project milestones and a commitment to adhering to a set critical path.

         Financial Plan (Up To 8 Points Available): Applications should include detailed cost and revenue projections that are sufficient to sustain the proposed broadband services for a period of at least five years. This should include breakdown of the costs for broadband deployment; assumptions for the number of residents and businesses that will access the broadband service, revenue estimates based on the number of residents and businesses who have or are projected to subscribe to service in the first year; assumptions made for five-year subscriber and population growth rate, average revenue per subscriber; measurability and types of services to be offered. Applications should identify potential risks that might affect implementation of the project and any strategies or solutions that you would use to mitigate or prevent these impacts.

         Technical Feasibility (Up To 8 Points Available): Provide a detailed description of the goals and objectives of the proposed system design; functional specifications including bandwidth and how many sites and/or systems will have to be connected; performance specifications including minimum levels and broadband standards for systems requiring interoperability with other networks; appropriateness and availability of the proposed technological solution including infrastructure that will be deployed; overview of the technology and facilities that will be used to deliver broadband services in the community(ies) including the potential for future expansion (scalability) of the proposed network. Identify capacity separately for each category of facility if application proposed interconnection between communities and/or private providers.

         1. a. Maintenance and Ongoing Sustainability: Provide details of all maintenance activities and how assistance will be provided. For example: will 24/7 maintenance support be provided; how will the service be monitored for problems; how will service growth be accommodated; what software will be used to generate utilization reports and service availability reports.
         2. b. As applicable, identify data cap limits, signal latency, and reliability of the technology to be utilized.
         3. c. Historic service issues in other areas served by the qualified broadband provider in the partnership.
   6. F) The criteria in this rule (413-9-1-.09) are designed to assist the OneGeorgia Authority and/or Department in making a decision and only constitute minimum standards. Additional factors may be considered depending on the nature of particular projects and their relative merit compared to competing proposals and depending on the availability of funding at the time of application. The decisions made by the OneGeorgia Authority and/or the Department shall be final and conclusive.

Submitted:May 23, 2022.

Authority: O.C.G.A. § 50-34-1 et seq.

History. Original Grant Description entitled "Award Criteria" submitted June 27, 2019.