Utah announces $13.4 million NTIA BTOP grant to expand school broadband

Senator Valentine used a personal-privilege moment to announce that the Utah Education Network (UEN) had been awarded a $13,400,000 grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The state will need to provide a $3,500,000 match to qualify for and deploy the funds.

Senator Valentine and Senator Stevenson said the funding will expand fiber connectivity to dozens or hundreds of elementary schools that currently rely on T‑1 lines or partial connectivity, enabling adaptive online testing and modern classroom instruction. Senator Stevenson described the award as highly competitive and said it will take the state's schools “into the 21st‑century learning experience.” Senator Jones noted that stimulus (ARRA) funds helped enable the partnership and said the grant will benefit 59 Utah cities and towns and help at least 300 businesses as broadband infrastructure expands.

Officials estimated the project would create an estimated 450 jobs, largely in the telecommunications sector, and bring broadband services and fiber to remaining unconnected schools. The announcement included a request that the state provide a matching appropriation and referred to UEN as the applicant working in coordination with state and local partners.

Next steps: The Senate acknowledged the announcement on the floor; implementation requires the state match and coordination among UEN, state agencies and local education authorities to schedule buildout and distribution of funds.