The Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD) has launched several broadband investment programs to connect Kansans in unserved and underserved areas in the state since its 2020 inception.
In February of 2023, Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD) was the first state in the nation to receive a $15 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury Digital Connectivity Technology (DCT) funds. Program will support equal access to high-speed internet, provide devices to underserved Kansans, and expand digital skills training for communities across Kansas.
Kansas will invest $35 million in state and local fiscal recovery efforts through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, as designated by the SPARK committee. The purpose of these funds is to enable the deployment of last-mile and middle-mile broadband infrastructure with a $30 million investment called (LINC) and to support equal access to high-speed internet and expand digital skills training for communities across Kansas through Digital Opportunities to Connect Kansans (DOCK) a $5 million investment.
Also launched in 2020, the state’s only broadband investment program, the Broadband Acceleration Grant Program, is poised to invest $85 million over 10 years toward bridging the digital divide in Kansas. The broadband infrastructure construction and modernization funding is provided through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program (IKE).
This competitive grant program will invest $5 million in grant awards for years one through three, and $10 million in funding awards for years four through ten. The program prioritizes bringing access to unserved and undeserved areas through the construction of broadband infrastructure across Kansas.
In June of 2023, Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD) launched the Lasting Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (LINC) program, which is a multi-faceted effort to improve broadband infrastructure, middle mile connectivity, and Internet Exchange Point capabilities within the State of Kansas.
The CPF program is providing funding to make broadband connections in critical areas of the state that lack access to high-speed internet. The $83.5 million total CPF investment, combined with almost $42 million in matching funds, will result in more than 24,500 homes, businesses, schools, health care facilities, and other public institutions being connected to fast, reliable internet for the first time. This program was developed to bring broadband infrastructure that will deliver speeds that meet or exceed symmetrical speeds of 100 Mbps to unserved areas across Kansas.
In 2020, the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) committee allocated $60M in Coronavirus Relief Funding (CRF) to the Kansas Office of Broadband Development (KOBD) to increase connectivity in the State of Kansas, in response to needs precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic which forced many to stay at home.
As a result, KOBD launched two pandemic response programs. Connectivity Emergency Response Grant (CERG) program and the Broadband Partnership Adoption Grant (BPAG) program were created to drive immediate access and long-term impact. Expanding broadband infrastructure and supporting internet access was critical to meeting urgent Covid-19 needs related to telehealth services, remote learning, and remote work, while also investing in the state of Kansas for future generations.
View a map of past investment here.
Please note as projects and private investments build out, this map will continue to update. To view a larger version of this map, please click the map.
Current as of September 2024.
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