1. The office shall administer a broadband grant program designed to reduce or eliminate unserved and underserved areas in the state, leveraging federal funds and public and private partnerships where possible, by awarding grants to communications service providers that reduce or eliminate targeted service areas by installing broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service in accordance with the following:

 a. The broadband infrastructure facilitates broadband service that provides a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits per second and a minimum upload speed of one hundred megabits per second in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
 b. The broadband infrastructure facilitates broadband service that provides a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits per second and a minimum upload speed of one hundred megabits per second in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides any of the following:

 (1) Download speeds less than or equal to the tier 2 download speed specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
 (2) Download speeds less than or equal to the tier 3 download speed specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 8B.11

  • Applicant: means a person authorized to regularly lend moneys to be secured by a mortgage on real property in this state, a licensed real estate broker, a licensed attorney, a participating abstractor, or a licensed closing agent. See Iowa Code 16.92
  • Broadband: means a high-speed, high-capacity electronic transmission medium, including fixed wireless and mobile wireless mediums, that can carry data signals from independent network sources by establishing different bandwidth channels and that is commonly used to deliver internet services to the public. See Iowa Code 8B.1
  • Broadband infrastructure: means the physical infrastructure used for the transmission of data that provides broadband services. See Iowa Code 8B.1
  • Communications service provider: means a service provider that provides broadband service. See Iowa Code 8B.1
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Internet: means the federated international system that is composed of allied electronic communication networks linked by telecommunication channels, that uses standardized protocols, and that facilitates electronic communication services, including but not limited to use of the world wide web; the transmission of electronic mail or messages; the transfer of files and data or other electronic information; and the transmission of voice, image, and video. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Internet site: means a specific location on the internet that is determined by internet protocol numbers, by a domain name, or by both, including but not limited to domain names that use the designations ". See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Office: means the office of the chief information officer created in section 8B. See Iowa Code 8B.1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Targeted service area: means any of the following:
     a. See Iowa Code 8B.1
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. a. An empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund is established in the state treasury under the authority of the office. The fund shall consist of moneys available to and obtained or accepted by the office. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to the office to be used for the grant program, including for broadband mapping and the administration and operation of the grant program, and for the fiberoptic network conduit installation program established in section 8B.25.

 b. The office shall use moneys in the fund to provide grants to communications service providers pursuant to this section and to lead and coordinate the fiberoptic network conduit installation program pursuant to section 8B.25. The office may use not more than two and one-half percent of the moneys in the fund at the beginning of the fiscal year to pay the costs and expenses associated with the administration and operation of the grant program and the fiberoptic network conduit installation program. The office shall use moneys in the fund to leverage available federal moneys if possible.
 c. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated until three years following the last day of the fiscal year in which the funds were originally appropriated.
 d. Notwithstanding paragraph “c” or any provision to the contrary, moneys in the fund that have been awarded but not paid to a communications service provider shall not revert but shall remain available to the office for purposes of administering the award in a manner consistent with the terms and conditions of any corresponding contract or grant agreement governing the administration of the award.
 3. Communications service providers may apply to the office for a grant pursuant to this section for the installation of broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service in targeted service areas. The office shall make available a public internet site identifying all publicly available information contained in the applications and any results of performance testing conducted after the project is completed. The office shall devote one full-time equivalent position to evaluate applications submitted under this section and provide technical assistance to communications service providers in completing applications for federal funds, or any other funds from any public or private sources, related to improving broadband infrastructure.
 4. a. The office shall award grants on a competitive basis for the installation of broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service as provided in subsection 3 in targeted service areas after considering the following:

 (1) The relative need for broadband infrastructure in the area and the existing broadband service speeds, including whether the project serves a rural area or areas.
 (2) The applicant‘s total proposed budget for the project, including all of the following:

 (a) The amount or percentage of local or federal matching funds, if any, and any funding obligations shared between public and private entities.
 (b) The percentage of funding provided directly from the applicant, including whether the applicant requested from the office an amount less than the maximum amount the office could award pursuant to subsection 5 and, if so, the percentage of the project cost that the applicant is requesting.
 (3) The relative download and upload speeds of proposed projects for all applicants.
 (4) The specific product attributes resulting from the proposed project, including technologies that provide higher qualities of service, such as service levels, latency, and other service attributes as determined by the office.
 (5) The percentage of the homes, farms, schools, and businesses in the targeted service area that will be provided access to broadband service.
 (6) The proportion of proposed projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which the only broadband service available provides the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
 (7) Other factors the office deems relevant.
 b. In considering the factors listed in paragraph “a” for awarding grants pursuant to this section, the office shall afford the greatest weight to the factors described in paragraph “a”, subparagraphs (1) through (3), and subparagraph (6).
 5. The total amount of the grants the office awards from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund pursuant to this section shall not exceed any of the following amounts:

 a. Seventy-five percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
 b. Fifty percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download speeds less than or equal to the tier 2 download speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
 c. Thirty-five percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download speeds less than or equal to the tier 3 download speed specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
 6. Notwithstanding subsections 3 and 5, communications service providers may apply to the office for a grant pursuant to this section for the installation of broadband infrastructure that facilitates broadband service providing a minimum download speed of one hundred megabits per second and a minimum upload speed of twenty megabits per second in targeted service areas pursuant to this subsection. The office shall make available a public internet site identifying all publicly available information contained in the applications and any results of performance testing conducted after the project is completed.

 a. The office shall award grants under this subsection on a competitive basis after considering the factors provided in subsection 4 and affording weight to the factors pursuant to subsection 4, paragraph “b”.
 b. The total amount of the grants the office shall award pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed fifty percent of a communications service provider’s project costs for projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in a targeted service area within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1.
 7. Notwithstanding subsections 5 and 6, at least twenty percent of the total amount of the grants the office awards from the empower rural Iowa broadband grant fund pursuant to this section shall be allocated to projects that will result in the installation of broadband infrastructure in difficult to serve targeted service areas within which no communications service provider offers or facilitates broadband service that provides download and upload speeds less than or equal to the tier 1 download and upload speeds specified in the definition of targeted service area in section 8B.1. For purposes of this subsection, a targeted service area is difficult to serve if the soil conditions, topography, or other local conditions make the installation of broadband infrastructure in the targeted service area more time-consuming or labor-intensive compared to other areas of the state.
 8. The office shall provide public notice regarding the application process and receipt of funding.
 9. The office may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A interpreting this chapter or necessary for administering this chapter, including but not limited to rules relating to the broadband grant program process, management, and measurements as deemed necessary by the office.
 10. The office shall adopt rules establishing procedures to allow aggrieved applicants an opportunity to challenge the office’s award of grants under this section.
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