OKLAHOMA BROADBAND OFFICE / From the desk of Mike Sanders
In the latest release of the Federal Communication Commission’s internet service data, Oklahoma ranked 4th in the country for reducing the number of homes and businesses without internet. Through our programs and the work from the private sector, Oklahomans are getting connected like never before.
During the pandemic the Oklahoma Legislature acted quickly to establish the Rural Broadband Expansion Council. Its goal was to address which areas of the state needed internet and highlight potential challenges. But at the time, there was no funding available and no office to administer infrastructure grants.
Since then, the Oklahoma Broadband Office and an appointed governing board were established, and a full staff was assembled.
It’s been years in the making, but we are delivering on the promise to rural Oklahoma.
In 2024 alone, the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board awarded more than $500 million in federal grants to connect homes and businesses to highspeed internet. Those grants were accompanied by more than $125 million in matching funds from internet providers.
It started in January when the governing board awarded $374 million in ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. Our Legislature had the foresight to make Oklahoma one of the few states to use ARPA funds for broadband infrastructure. The result was over 130 projects going to 55 counties.
Construction has already started for dozens of these projects. We’re seeing rural communities such as, Slick and Taft, and counties like Choctaw, receive the high-speed internet they have long been without.
Then in September, the governing board awarded an additional $159 million to continue connecting Oklahomans. In the blink of an eye, we added 50 more projects to be built in communities that have never had high-speed internet.
The baton is now passed to the awarded companies who partnered with us to connect more than 70,000 homes and businesses.
Those companies have made a pledge to assist us in Oklahoma’s transformational upgrade. While our office monitors the projects and ensures taxpayers’ dollars are spent correctly, the companies are the ones in the field.
Awarding over half a billion dollars in infrastructure grants is a milestone the state should be proud to witness. The positive ripple effects will be felt for generations.
All this might sound like the office’s goals have been met, but we’re not there yet. In 2025, we will award our largest federal program. The Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment program is set to deliver an additional $750 million in infrastructure grants.
The goal is to make sure by the time our office sunsets, there will be no home, business, school, or hospital without access to high-speed internet.
We intend to make that happen.
