The latest round of funding shows the GOP-led legislature’s goal of expanding broadband access “is within reach,” said Republican House Speaker David Osborne. He pointed to legislative initiatives that created and funded the Kentucky Broadband Deployment Fund and Office of Broadband Development.
The broadband awards are the result of a 2021 agreement between lawmakers and the governor to use $300 million of federal pandemic relief funds to extend broadband service. On Tuesday, the governor awarded 56 grants totaling more than $196 million in public funds from the broadband deployment fund. Internet service providers receiving grant funding will contribute more than $190 million in matching funds.
It’s all part of a “transformative” push to achieve universal, reliable internet access statewide, he said.