Notice of Funding Availability #005 (Expired)

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OFFICIAL NOTICE. March 12, 2021. The Office has issued the Notice of Intent to Award (NOIA) for Notice of Funding Availability #005.  The NOIA can be found within the Notice of Intent To Award for NOFA #005. Additional information including a list of all application materials received and a map of awarded project areas can be found below.

Purpose

Governor Reynolds has authorized the allocation and expenditure of residual funds totaling $15,452,302.00 from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund (“Coronavirus Relief Funds”) to address the increased need for internet connectivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Broadband Infrastructure Projects under this NOFA must be completed by December 1, 2021.

The purpose of this NOFA is to solicit Applications from Responsible Applicants for the buildout of Broadband Infrastructure Projects that will provide the greatest overall impact in furthering telework, telehealth, distance learning, and other remote services to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Targeted Service Areas of the State. Targeted Service Areas are areas within which, as of July 31, 2020, either no Communications Service Provider Facilitated at least 25/3 Broadband, or otherwise any area that is materially underserved or without meaningfully available Broadband (See Iowa Administrative Code chapter 129—20). Applications must provide a demonstrable nexus to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a nexus to furthering telework, telehealth, distance learning, and other remote services. This grant round is based on renewed Targeted Service Area determinations published to an updated version of the Statewide Broadband Availability Map (V3) on October 28, 2020. These determinations and this map identify the geographic areas in the State of Iowa in which grant funds under this program are available.

Consistent with the foregoing, the Office is seeking Proposals from Responsible Applicants to provide or incentivize expansion of a minimum of 25/3 Broadband to Targeted Service Areas in the State of Iowa. Provided there is a demonstrable nexus to the COVID 19 pandemic, including a nexus to furthering telework, telehealth, distance learning, and other remote services, Applicant’s proposals may accomplish this by reducing or eliminating Targeted Service Areas through the installation of Broadband Infrastructure that Facilitates Broadband service at speeds equal to at least 25/3 Broadband, 50/5 Broadband, or speeds equal to or greater than 100/100 Broadband.  The total amount of Coronavirus Relief Funds sought under this NOFA may not exceed:

1. Projects that will result in the installation of Broadband infrastructure that will Facilitate Broadband service at or above 100/100 Broadband, seventy-five percent (75%), of the actual or originally estimated, whichever is less, Total Project Costs.
2. Projects that will result in the installation of Broadband infrastructure that will Facilitate Broadband service at speeds less than 100/100 Broadband but greater than or equal to 50/5 Broadband, fifty percent (50%) of the actual or originally estimated, whichever is less, Total Project Costs.
3. Projects that will result in the installation of Broadband infrastructure that will Facilitate Broadband service at speeds less than 50/5 Broadband, but greater than or equal to 25/3 Broadband, thirty-five percent (35%) of the actual or originally estimated, whichever is less, Total Project Costs.

Documentation

Information concerning the grant application process, including all application materials, agreements, and program information are provided below. All Applications to this NOFA were required to be submitted electronically through the Iowa Grants System, as part of Funding Opportunity #390478  - Empower Rural Iowa Emergency Broadband Expansion Program (NOFA #005).

• Notice of Intent To Award for NOFA #005
• Exhibit A - Notice of Funding Availability
  • Addendum #1 to NOFA #005
  • Addendum #2 to NOFA #005 - Written Responses to Questions 
  • Addendum #3 to NOFA #005 - Scoring Rubric
• Broadband Grants Core Application, including:
  • Exhibit B - Broadband Grants Program Infrastructure Worksheet
  • Exhibit C - Broadband Grants Program Qualitative Attributes Form
  • Exhibit D - Broadband Grants Program Budget Plan
  • Exhibit D.1 - Broadband Grants Program Outside TSA Infrastructure Worksheet
• Exhibit E - Broadband Grants Program Grant Agreement, Including Federal Funding Provisions
• Exhibit F - Certification And Authorization to Release Information
• Exhibit G - Request for Confidentiality - Form 22
• Exhibit H - Application Checklist
• Exhibit I - Iowa Grants Registration and Application Instructions
• Exhibit J - Project Selection and Data Export/Import Instructions

Schedule of Important Dates

The timeline for Notice of Funding Availability #005 is set forth below including steps and dates of each of the major element of the program.

Applications Received

The information below includes all applications received by the Office under this NOFA including those that did not receive grant awards. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any application withdrawn from consideration prior to the NOIA issuance is not published here. The table below shows key facts associated with received and awarded applications. The "Awarded" row represents the key facts for applications that were offered funding pursuant to the Notice of Intent to Award.

42 applications were deemed submitted in response to NOFA #005. The public, redacted versions of each application are provided below. In the Application column, click the link to download a zip file containing the public version of that application. The "Final Disposition" column in the table below indicates the final status of the award. If an applicant received an awarded from the Office pursuant to the Notice of Intent To Award for this opportunity upon final issuance, this column will be marked as "Awarded." All awarded applications are highlighted in bold.

Map of Awarded Areas

This grant round was based on renewed Targeted Service Area determinations published to an updated version of the Statewide Broadband Availability Map (V3) on October 28, 2020. A map of areas associated with awarded applications is provided below.

Open Map of Awarded Applications in New Window