By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

LA PORTE, Ind. — Officials from an Indiana community that does a great deal of farming are not holding back in going after a chunk of the $100 million Gov. Eric Holcomb has set aside to expand access to broadband in underserved rural areas.

The sense of urgency in LaPorte County near the southern tip of Lake Michigan is mirrored at the federal level by $600 million USDA is about to disburse to fill more coverage gaps nationwide.

LaPorte County recently formed a task force of technology experts to focus specifically on solutions to the complicated problem of expanding high-speed, or broadband, internet access. The county commissioners on March 6 hired a professional grant writer to improve its chances of being awarded a slice of Indiana’s new broadband expansion funding pot.

The task can seem almost unreachable due to cost, but one that’s less often being ignored. “It’s not a challenge that’s too big for us. We just need to figure out how to get the resources and how to get all of the right people who can help us make the right decisions,” said La Porte County Commissioner Sheila Brillson.

Access to high-speed internet has become a matter of economic life or death. USDA, for example, is accepting applications for $600 million set aside for expanding broadband access in rural areas nationwide under legislation adopted by Congress in March 2018. Use of this funding was also placed on a fast track under a pilot program called ReConnect.

The program, discussed by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue at the National Assoc. of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., could be renewed if the funding works to attract enough service providers. He said the funding will be equally dispersed through grants, loans, and a combination “to prove the concept of how we can deploy broadband across the country.”

Applications for funding are being accepted until April 29. Visit www.usda.gov/reconnect to learn more.

According to USDA, eligible applicants must be in a rural area where at least 90 percent of households do not have sufficient broadband access. Providers must also be capable of servicing all parts of an area seeking funds with a minimum data speed of 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, according to USDA.

According to USDA. eligible applicants must also demonstrate their projects are financially sustainable. Sustainability is why providers are often reluctant to extend fiber optics to areas without the volume of prospective customers to generate a solid enough return on their investments.

Government assistance is aimed at being an incentive for providers to make it worth their cost.

USDA has also unveiled a new e-Connectivity Toolkit for communities to locate and review 27 USDA programs that support broadband deployment. There are resources to help with planning, equipment, construction, research, and other e-Connectivity projects, online at https://bit.ly/2WMFuFz

“This user-friendly tool will help rural customers find the many resources USDA has available to support the expansion and use of e-Connectivity in rural America,” said Anne Hazlett, assistant to the secretary of Rural Development at USDA.

In Indiana, the $100 million for broadband extension is being overseen by Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The Indiana Department of Transportation will administer grants and provide technical support.

According to Holcomb’s office, broadband providers can receive as much as $5 million in the first round of funding to expand services to areas not adequately served if they match the grant with 20 percent of their own funding.

Tony Rodriquez, executive director of the LaPorte County Office for Economic and Community Development, said another reason for turning to a professional grant writer is to beat the deadline for submitting the application. He said writing a grant request takes a lot of work best left to a professional, especially with a narrow window for getting it turned in.

“We’ve got a lot of heavy lifting to do in a short period time,” Rodriquez said.

LaPorte County’s interest in filling coverage gaps has much to do with its economy relying heavily on farming. The county ranks third in the state, for example, in production of corn, wheat, and other grains, according to a report compiled by the Indiana Business Research Center, Indiana University, and Kelley School of Business.

About half of its 110,000 population is considered rural. “We want to have smart farms, obviously, (and) e-learning for all of the school-age children in the county. It’s the whole point of our task force initiative,” Rodriquez said.

Brillson said it’s not acceptable for students having to use free Wi-Fi at public places like McDonald’s to do their homework because there’s not sufficient access to broadband at home. “It’s not a frill anymore. It’s a requirement,” she pointed out.