Hundreds of thousands of Mississippians lack access — or have inadequate access — to high-speed, reliable internet.
The challenge is one state leaders, armed with federal dollars and assisted by the state’s network of internet service providers, are tackling.
In 2022, state legislators created the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi initiative, more commonly known as BEAM. This state broadband office is tasked with uniting efforts to get Mississippians online at high speeds. For its first leader, Gov. Tate Reeves picked Sally Doty of Brookhaven, a former state senator and head of the Public Utilities Staff. Doty, who headed state Senate panels on the topic, is intimately familiar with the state’s internet access issues.
Doty said internet improvements became a hot topic in the state Legislature about four years ago. At that time, the federal government was ramping up its efforts to deliver affordable, high-speed internet to millions of Americans. Congressional leaders were allocating billions of dollars to broadband initiatives across the country, she said.
The term “broadband” refers to internet access that is always on and faster than traditional dial-up access. Common broadband delivery methods include DSL, cable, fiber and satellite. Fiber internet, delivered to homes through underground fiber-optic cables, is reliable and can reach record speeds, Doty said.
Back in 2019, the state’s electrical co-ops saw an opportunity — and a funding stream — to install miles and miles of new fiber-optic cable across the state, she said.
“A lot of our co-ops saw there was a big pot of federal money that was coming down through RDOF, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund,” Doty said. “They wanted to be able to participate in that funding, but they did not have the authority to be in the broadband business. At the time, I was chair of the Senate Energy Committee, and we passed legislation allowing them to enter the business.”
That pot of money amounted to about $450 million, and initial efforts by the co-ops to enhance broadband access were “very successful,” she said.
In 2020, Mississippi’s broadband efforts received another injection of federal funding with the passage of the $2.2-trillion CARES Act. Mississippi received $1.25 billion from that legislation, which was designed to maintain the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. State legislators appropriated $75 million of that money for further internet access improvements, Doty said.
“Around that time, I moved over to the Public Utilities Staff and was tasked with managing that money,” she said. “That money had a match component that really notched it up to about $150 million. The majority of that money was awarded to the electrical co-ops and their broadband subsidiaries. I think there were 14 (of the state’s 26 co-ops) that participated in that. Those projects are complete, and people are signing up and getting started with their new fiber internet.”
More federal money — this time, through the Department of Commerce’s Broadband Infrastructure Program — became available in 2021, Doty said. To apply for a slice of that funding, the state’s internet service providers needed a governmental partner. They turned to Doty and the Public Utilities Staff.
“We ended up applying for some of that money and were awarded a further $32 million,” she said. “We’re currently administering those funds. That money moved from the Public Utilities Staff to BEAM when this office opened in 2022.”
Federal funding brings with it complex regulations and requirements, Doty said. One of the requirements was the establishment of a state broadband office to coordinate efforts and manage the money. On a day-to-day basis, BEAM’s employees work with contractors and engineers, coordinate with other state entities and the federal government, and survey Mississippians on their internet needs.
In addition to administering the money from the Commerce Department, BEAM staffers are now overseeing $162 million in funds delivered by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This federal spending bill — another effort to pump up the economy following the pandemic — allocated $1.9 trillion to recovery efforts across the country.
“That funding had a lot of strings attached to it, and we had to submit a specific plan for its use,” Doty said. “We’re going to use it to do large-scale broadband infrastructure projects across the state. We’ll award funding to broadband service providers on a competitive basis.”
Doty submitted the ARPA spending plan to the federal government for approval in September 2022. The plan was given the green light in May. Providers can now apply for their cut of the funding on the BEAM website. The portal will close at 5 p.m. on Aug. 17.
The ARPA pot of money is now around $152 million, Doty said. Officials pulled 5% from the state’s original allotment to cover items like accounting and engineering costs and BEAM staff salaries.
“We think that the ARPA money will allow us to bring broadband internet to about 35,000 households — maybe more, maybe less,” she said. “Costs are always fluctuating.”
Doty said she expects to award providers with their slice of that federal money starting in late September. Providers will then have an opportunity to challenge awards given to other providers.
“The law requires that we post the awards publicly, and, if there is a provider who is already providing service to an area, they can challenge that award,” she said. “We want to make the most of this federal money, and we don’t want to overbuild a private entity. So, we’ve been very cautious about that.”
BEAM staff members are also working to map the state and determine every inch of its broadband status. They categorize areas as well-served, meaning they have adequate broadband access at around 100 megabits per second down and 20 megabits per second up; underserved, meaning they have access but need faster or more reliable speeds; or unserved, meaning they have no access.
There are currently about 268,000 unserved addresses in the state, Doty said.
“It’s a tremendous issue,” she said.
Despite that vast number, Doty said she is full of optimism about the state’s efforts, and she thinks funding streams will help BEAM get the state close to 100% served in just a few years.
She has a big reason behind her sunny view of things.
In June, the Commerce Department announced that Mississippi will receive $1.2 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds from the $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act of 2021, which was designed to upgrade highways and transit programs and to fund broadband access, clean water and electric grid renewal efforts. BEAM will administer the BEAD funds for the Magnolia State, and those plans are quickly coming together.
“That money will have a tremendous impact on Mississippi,” Doty said. “We’ll see an even larger boom in remote work, telehealth … the possibilities are endless.”
Doty said the state broadband office is committed to improving high-speed internet access while also maintaining affordability.
“All of our providers must participate in the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program,” she said. “They must also offer a low-cost option, with a monthly bill of around $20 or $25.”
The Affordable Connectivity Program, administered by the Federal Communications Commission, provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households. Low-income households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a computer or tablet from participating providers.
Doty said Mississippians can help her office’s work by completing a short online survey about their household’s internet access. The survey is available on the BEAM website at beam.ms.gov.
“That will really provide our office with data, especially in underserved areas,” she said. “We want to make sure our map accurately reflects internet speeds and service in the state of Mississippi.”