The Capital Projects Fund (CPF), part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), provides $10 billion nationally and $135 million to Nevada to fund critical broadband capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to the public health emergency. Together with State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and State funds, Nevada's CPF dollars will move the State closer to its goal of universal access to high speed internet that is affordable, reliable, and scalable. Nevada's CPF plans are a part of the larger High Speed Nevada Initiative- a $500 million statewide effort to deploy broadband infrastructure and digital equity programming that will help close the digital divide. Information on Nevada's Capital Projects Fund Programs can be found below.
Low-Income MDU Connectivity Program Overview
Program Objective: To increase internet connectivity and available speeds through construction of last mile fiber to Nevada’s Public Housing Multi Dwelling Units (MDUs).
Total Funding Allocated: $55,164,890
Funding Source: Capital Projects Fund, American Rescue Plan Act, US Treasury
Estimated Number of Residential Units to be Connected: 40,000
Project Timeline: 2023-2026
Project Locations: Statewide
Project Need: In preparation for submitting its CPF Program plans, The Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) conducted extensive community engagement and learned that during the pandemic, low-income Nevadans living in public or subsidized MDUs struggled with a lack of bandwidth needed for critical education, remote work, telehealth, accessing reliable health information, and other government and community-related services that were no longer available through any other means. During meetings with housing managers, inequitable, antiquated infrastructure to and within MDUs was identified as a barrier to residents’ access to affordable high-speed Internet. Data from the State and regional housing authorities in Nevada show over 40,000 individual low-income, tax-subsidized housing units in MDUs that need affordable high-speed Internet. This Capital Projects Fund Program will bring high-speed broadband services at a minimum of 100Mbps symmetrical to low-income Nevadans living in tax subsidized MDUs.
Project Summary: The Low-Income MDU Program Plan will address a critical issue faced by low-income Nevadans statewide: broadband infrastructure to and within low-income housing that cannot support residents’ bandwidth needs, further widening the digital divide. For low-income Nevadans residing in low-income multi-dwelling units (MDUs) across the state, CPF funds will be used to upgrade connections to the point of demarcation for the MDU and to improve internal wiring and wired and wireless network equipment within the MDU. This Program will begin to bring modern, scalable broadband infrastructure into some of the most disadvantaged communities in Nevada by building fiber to every multi-dwelling unit demarcation point and investing in in-building wired and wireless coverage that ensures every unit within the MDU has broadband service that meets or exceed the minimum 100Mbps symmetrical service standard. The disadvantaged communities targeted are mostly tax-subsidized, low-income multi-dwelling units. This infrastructure directly facilitates improved connectivity that is essential for the residential population to successfully participate in remote work, distance education and health monitoring.