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Commerce briefs JFAC on broadband rollout: BEAD prequalification and $120M capital projects under way
Summary
The Idaho Department of Commerce told JFAC it has obligated most state and ARPA broadband funds, is preparing for BEAD application rounds this year and is requesting staff and reappropriations to manage distribution and oversight.
The Idaho Department of Commerce told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the state is advancing multiple broadband funding streams and preparing to accept project funding applications later this year under the federal BEAD program.
Brooke Dupree, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, summarized Commerce's FY2026 request and funding history, and Director Tom Keeley and Ramon Jabe Sanchez, the department's broadband manager, answered committee questions on deployment timelines, technology priorities and collaboration with private Internet service providers.
Dupree said the department now has 48 authorized FTEs (42 in the commerce program and 6 in the broadband office) and that a separate broadband office was created last legislative session to improve transparency and oversight of broadband expenditures. The department's funding sources include a $35 million state broadband fund (an earlier general fund transfer), $120 million from ARPA capital-project allocations…
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