Rural carriers tell Utilities Committee grants and long payback periods are key to expanding broadband in western Kansas

Catherine Moyer, speaking for Pioneer Communications and the Communications Coalition of Kansas (CCK), told the Utilities Committee that rural carriers have invested heavily to build networks but rely on grant programs to reach the most sparsely populated areas.

Moyer said CCK represents 34 rural local-exchange carriers that serve all Kansas counties except Wyandotte, covering roughly 50% of the state’s land mass but only about 15% of households. She said the coalition’s members have spent more than $200 million in aggregate capital expenditures in recent years and supplement those investments with federal and state grants and universal service funds. "We serve 50% of the land mass, but only about 15% of the households," Moyer said.

Why it matters: Moyer told the committee that the remaining unserved or under-served areas are costly per customer to build and maintain. She called the 50/50 grant-match formula in the Broadband Acceleration Grant Program (authorized in the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Plan) a constraint for the most expensive builds and said the state’s Kansas Office of Broadband Deployment (KOBD) is administering BEAD (the NTIA Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program) funding that could reshape coverage depending on match and high-cost thresholds.

Details from the presentation and Q&A: - Scale and cost: Pioneer reported building 32 rural locations at a total cost of $750,000 (about $23,500 per location) and said carriers often plan a 20-year recovery window for capital investments. - Grants and funding streams: Moyer outlined multiple state and federal funding sources mentioned in her testimony — the Broadband Acceleration Grant (Ike Transportation Plan, 50/50 match), roughly $83.5 million in U.S. Treasury capital projects funds distributed via KOBD, $49.2 million recommended by the Spark Committee and an additional $35 million of ARPA recommended to KOBD, and the forthcoming BEAD allocation (~$450 million at the time of testimony) that KOBD is preparing to submit to NTIA. - Operational constraints: Carriers serving very rural territory face low customer density (Moyer said her certificated territory averages about two customers per square mile; 81% of customers live in 15 square miles while the remaining 19% occupy about 4,985 square miles). She said those sparse areas require disproportionately large network mileage and maintenance. - Regulatory and program details: Moyer explained carriers are often ‘‘carriers of last resort’’ with regulatory obligations to provide voice service even in high-cost situations; she said access to federal and state universal-service support requires providers to invest first and then seek reimbursement.

Committee discussion: Senators asked about specific middle-mile projects (KDOT/IdeaTek on I-70/US-83 corridors), the legislative origin of the BAG 50/50 requirement, and how demographic change may affect future demand. Moyer said KOBD cannot change the 50/50 BAG match without legislative action and that BEAD match rules and high-cost thresholds were still being finalized during the quiet period after the BEAD application window closed.

Next steps: Moyer offered to provide updated economic-study materials and to return with more detailed technical information; the committee did not record any formal action on broadband in the transcript.