Agenda - Council - 09/13/2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

because of the excessive cost of the project or geography or topography of the area to be served by the project, eligible projects may be designed to reliably meet or exceed 100 Mbps download speed and between at least 20 Mbps and 100 Mbps upload speed and be scalable to a minimum of 100 Mbps download speed and 100 Mbps upload speed. Treasury continues to encourage recipients to prioritize investments in fiber-optic infrastructure wherever feasible and to focus on projects that will achieve last -mile connections, whether by focusing directly on funding last - mile projects or by ensuring that funded middle -mile projects have commitments in place to support new and/or improved last -mile service. The final rule requires recipients to address the affordability needs of low-income consumers in accessing broadband networks funded by SLFRF, given that such a project cannot be considered a necessary investment in broadband infrastructure if it is not affordable to the population the project would serve. Recipients must require the service provider for a completed broadband infrastructure investment project that provides service to households to either participate in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), or otherwise provide access to a broad -based affordability program to low- income consumers in the proposed service area of the broadband infrastructure that provides benefits to households commensurate with those provided under the ACP. Treasury also recognizes the importance of affordable broadband access for all consumers beyond those that are low-income. As part of their project selection process, recipients are encouraged to consult with the community on the general affordability needs of the target markets in the proposed service area. Additionally, recipients are encouraged to require that services provided by a broadband infrastructure project include at least one low-cost option offered without data usage caps and at speeds that are sufficient for a household with multiple 297