Indiana Connectivity Program

OCRA
Broadband Funding Opportunities
Current: Indiana Connectivity Program

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Round 2 Awards:

The Indiana Connectivity Program announced the second round of awards on July 14, 2022. The second round of the program awarded $259,697 to expand broadband to 58 addresses across 19 counties. Of these addresses, 56 are homes and two are businesses. Internet providers carrying out the projects matched over $265,011 for a total investment of $524,708.

To find the number of addresses funded in each county, click here.

Provider	Addresses	Grant Amount
Berry Communications	1	$4,800
Central Indiana Communications	16	$66,200
Charter Communications	5	$22,545
Comcast	25	$118,632
Echo Wireless LLC	6	$25,098
Joink Inc.	4	$17,622
Smithville Fiber	1	$4,800
Total Awarded	58	$259,697

Overview:

The Indiana Connectivity Program aims to connect residents and businesses that lack access to broadband internet service with service providers and assist in the expense of extending broadband to those locations.

Process:

Owners of residential and business locations unserved or underserved (access to actual speeds less than 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload) can apply for consideration by entering their information into the Next Level Connections portal to initiate their interest in receiving broadband internet service.

Internet Service Providers will have the opportunity to review these locations and submit bids to the state on the cost of providing service to these locations. OCRA will evaluate these bids and make awards to the providers whose bid presents the lowest cost per Mbps to the state for extension of the service.

Status	Description
In-Progress	Application incomplete. Please submit your application to OCRA
Submitted for OCRA Review	Your application is under initial review by OCRA staff
Not Approved or Previously Awarded Funding	Your application could not advance, please log in to the portal and open My Applications to see an explanation
Staged for Challenge, Released for Challenge, Challenge Evaluation	OCRA is reviewing existing services offered for your address
Valid Challenge	A broadband provider can offer existing services and will contact you
Open to Bundle, Staged for Bid, Released for Bid, Bid Evaluation	Your application is under consideration by broadband providers
No Bid or No Valid Bid	No provider submitted a bid or was awarded. Your application will be included in the next round.
Awarded	A broadband provider has been selected to provide services for your address and will contact you

*Inputting location information into the Next Level Connections portal does not guarantee extension of service.

*If a resident or business cannot access the online portal, the Indiana Broadband Connect Center can assist in this process. Please call 833-639-8522.

Eligibility:

Locations that currently lack broadband service or have actual broadband speeds of less than 25/3Mbps are eligible. The location can be residential or business.

Funding:

The portfolio of Next Level Connections Broadband Programs has been allocated $270 million in total. This would include the Indiana Connectivity Program.

Limits per line extension are set by Indiana Code. These limits are:

*A per-line extension amount that cannot exceed $25,000.
*A per passing amount that cannot exceed $4,800.

Timeline:

The Indiana Connectivity Program and Next Level Connections online portal is accepting applications.

The bidding and challenge processes must take place before awards can be made. Once made, projects must be completed within six to nine months of the contract date.

At least every three months, OCRA will publish to registered providers the addresses requesting service
Service providers will have 10 days to notify OCRA of service availability at those locations
Service Providers have 60 days to submit bids on locations they would like to extend service to
OCRA will evaluate all bids within 30 days and select the provider whose bid presents the lowest cost per Mbps to the state.

Round 2 Timeline

Addresses Posted for Challenge	March 7, 2022
Challenges Due	March 18, 2022
Addresses Posted for Bid	April 11, 2022
Bids Due	June 3, 2022
Selections Announced	July 2022

All dates are subject to change. The Indiana Connectivity Program address enrollment is ongoing.

Round 3 Timeline

Addresses Posted for Challenge	June 8, 2022
Challenges Due	June 21, 2022
Addresses Posted for Bid	July 11, 2022
Bids Due	Sept. 2, 2022
Selections Announced	October 2022

All dates are subject to change. The Indiana Connectivity Program address enrollment is ongoing. Round 4 will begin in September 2022.

How to submit your information:

Indiana residents and business owners can submit their address and information through the online portal, which will be available starting Monday, Sept. 27, by phone at 833-639-8522 or by mail to the following address:

Attn: Indiana Broadband Connect Center

The Office of Community and Rural Affairs

1 N. Capitol Ave.

Suite 600

Indianapolis, IN 46204

Resources:

Round 1 Awards:

The Indiana Connectivity Program announced the first round of awards on April 28, 2022. The first round of the program awarded $654,678 to expand broadband to 253 addresses across 40 counties. Of these addresses, 246 are homes and seven are businesses. Internet providers carrying out the projects matched over $1.5 million for a total investment of $2.2 million.