South Carolina Broadband Office awards $72M in project funding

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The South Carolina Broadband Office (SCBBO) has concluded its American Rescue Plan Act Capital Projects Fund (CPF) 1.0 Grant Program.

In addition to those projects that were announced on Dec. 18 and Jan. 31, the SCBBO recently awarded 16 additional projects totaling $71.5 million, which completes the deployment of South Carolina’s CPF allocation of $185,121,662, according to a news release.

Taken collectively, the ARPA CPF 1.0 funds were awarded to 15 internet service providers for 34 projects; the funds will impact 41 counties and will transform the Main Street communities of Norway and Ridge Spring, the release stated.  The total project cost for this round is estimated to be $290,246,872. This amount reflects an overall match rate of 36% non-ARPA funds (other federal and/or private investment), in addition to the ARPA funds provided by the SCBBO.

“It has taken incredible SCBBO teamwork and lots of collaboration with our ISPs to reach this amazing milestone in South Carolina,” said Jim Stritzinger, Director of the SCBBO, in the release.  “I am incredibly grateful to all involved. This vast collection of CPF projects will provide high-speed internet access to homes and businesses across 41 counties.”

All ARPA CPF 1.0 grants are required to be complete by Dec. 29, 2025. When finished, ISPs in South Carolina will have constructed over 4,200 additional miles of fiber providing high-speed internet access to at least 33,662 housing units and 3,951 businesses, the release stated.

A comprehensive, interactive map of all CPF grant awards can be found here. More information can be found here.

Now that CPF investments are complete, the SCBBO has announced the final grant program based upon the ARPA State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF).

Designated ARPA SLFRF 3.0, this new program will be the final tranche of ARPA broadband investments in South Carolina and is estimated to be approximately $40 million, the release stated. The program will deploy all remaining SLFRF broadband funds and maintain priority focus on unserved census blocks 1) with large numbers of K-12 students, 2) that are in difficult development areas, or 3) that are without an ISP.

“The complete deployment of CPF funds and today’s announcement regarding ARPA SLFRF 3.0 represent our aggressive approach to making broadband resources work for all South Carolinians,” said Andrew Bateman, acting executive director of the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff, in the release. “In May 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor McMaster and the SC General Assembly gave us specific direction to deploy $400 million of ARPA broadband resources as quickly and efficiently as possible, and we are doing exactly that. We are on track and have a goal to have all ARPA broadband funds — SLFRF and CPF — committed by June 2024.”