News

The Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board has approved 50 grants that will provide service to 28,000 locations across 28 counties.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Homes and businesses across 28 counties will be the beneficiaries of 50 grants recently approved by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board.

The grant approvals, which will bring service to approximately 28,000 locations, were announced last week with a press release on the Oklahoma City Free Press website.

According to the release, the grants will be matched with more than $109 million from a dozen internet service providers.

The grants approved last week, all funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund, collectively amounted to more than $158 million, the release stated.

The approvals represent the second wave of broadband grant funding approved by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board this year.

In total, over $500 million in broadband grant funding has been approved by the broadband governing board in Oklahoma this year, the release stated.

Earlier this year, the board voted to approve 142 broadband projects, with a deadline of 2026, that will connect over 55,000 Oklahomans homes and businesses.

“These investments are a game changer for communities that have, for far too long, been left behind in the digital age,” said Mike Sanders, the office’s executive director.

The funds approved by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board this year will provide service to approximately 66,000 locations across 57 of the state’s 77 counties, according to the announcement.

In addition to the funds being approved by the state, Oklahoma has been slated for $750 million in grants under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

To get content like this delivered to your inbox, subscribe to the Broadband Communities newsletter.