The Municipal Infrastructure Program (MIP) is now open to eligible public applicants to apply for a federally funded grant. The funding award—$228.2 million through the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund—was announced on January 22, 2024.1 The MIP is a grant program run by New York State’s ConnectALL Office (CAO), through which CAO will award grants that will result in infrastructure that will either be owned by a public entity or publicly controlled with stipulations on its use. The grants may be used for last-mile fiber connections, fiber connections to internet exchange points or data centers, and the acquisition of existing infrastructure assets and related agreements.2
CAO intends to limit individual proposals to a maximum of $30 million. Grant projects must result in a form of public ownership or public control of the infrastructure that meets CAO standards. Projects already receiving funding from other federal or state sources are not eligible for MIP funding. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to complete projects in the required time as well as their ability to meet reporting and compliance requirements, and projects must deliver speeds of at least 100/100 mbps. Applicants must offer broadband service at a cost to residential customers that is generally below the costs for other residential service in the area. For private entities, projects must also demonstrate interconnections with publicly controlled infrastructure and be operated and maintained as an open-access network with transparent pricing for at least five years.3 Projects should be substantially completed by December 31, 2026.
The MIP will prioritize new public broadband infrastructure that will be made available on an open access, non-discriminatory basis to private internet service providers (ISPs) and managed service providers (MSPs). The MIP will also prioritize projects that address unserved and underserved locations. Eligible applicants include public entities, municipal utilities, utility cooperatives and private partner applicants that receive letters of endorsement from an eligible public applicant.4
The MIP consists of three phases. CAO will accept applications on a phased basis until available funds are committed or until CAO pauses or closes the Request for Applications (RFA) process.5 Phases 1 and 2 are only open to eligible public applicants and will be prioritized over applications received during Phase 3. Phase 1 applications are due by March 8, 2024, and Phase 2 applications are due by April 19, 2024. Some applications submitted during the Phase 1 window may be held and reviewed by CAO during Phase 2. Phase 3 will be open to eligible private applicants with an application due date of June 7, 2024.6
Applicants should use the Consolidated Funding Application portal to apply to the MIP.7 CAO will score projects based on evaluation criteria and scoring weight, which can be reviewed in the RFA.8 CAO will deem the highest scoring proposals as conditionally approved and then will meet with conditional awardees to improve the proposals, reduce risk and ensure compliance. To aid applicants, CAO has published other resources on their website, and potential applicants may send questions to CAO at MIP@esd.ny.gov.9
Additional Assistance
For further assistance, please contact a member of our Telecommunications Industry Team or the Phillips Lytle attorney with whom you have a relationship.
1 See Press Release, N.Y. State Governor, Governor Hochul, Majority Leader Schumer and Leader Jeffries Announce $228 Million in Federal Funding to Launch New York’s ConnectALL Municipal Infrastructure Grant Program to Bring Last Mile Fiber and High-Speed Internet to Homes in Underserved Communities Across the Empire State (Jan. 22, 2024), https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-majority-leader-schumer-and-leader-jeffries-announce-228-million-federal.
2 See ConnectALL, Municipal Infrastructure Program Request for Applications (RFA) at 6 (Jan. 22, 2024), https://broadband.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/01/connectall-mip-rfa_final_v1.pdf.
3 Id. at 7.
4 See id.at 5.
5 See id. at 15.
6 See id. at 15-16. While these are the dates stated in the RFA, CAO reserves the right to modify the schedule or add phases.
7 See Consolidated Funding Application, N.Y. State Reg’l Econ. Dev. Councils, https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/ (last visited Feb. 2, 2024).
8 See ConnectALL, supra note 2, at 15.
9 For additional resources from CAO, please see Municipal Infrastructure Program, ConnectALL, https://broadband.ny.gov/municipal-infrastructure-program (last visited Feb. 2, 2024).
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