Nevada has pulled $52 million in pandemic relief funds aimed at improving broadband access in rural areas as a federal deadline looms, a blow to efforts to install high-speed internet statewide.
asserted
deadline → pull → internet
There are about three months left until the state must spend its $2.7 billion in pandemic relief funds, and Stimulus Inc., a contractor working on the broadband expansion, determined it would be unable to complete certain connections in the Pahrump area by that deadline, state lawmakers were told Thursday.
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lawmakers → be → deadline
It means that parts of the Pahrump area will not be part of the ongoing buildout of broadband.
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parts → mean → broadband
Additionally, Stimulus was planning for the Pahrump project to serve as a hub to build broadband out elsewhere, so that effort is also in doubt.
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effort → plan → doubt
The state does not yet know the exact locations that will be considered “unserved,” though northern Pahrump is expected to be particularly impacted.
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Pahrump → know → locations
“This was a decision that was a challenging decision to make,” said Britta Appel, the director of the Governor’s Office of Science, Information and Technology (OSIT), the agency overseeing the project.
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Appel → make → project
“It was really based on the totality of the circumstances.”
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It → base → circumstances
All pandemic relief funds must be spent by the end of the year — a requirement from the federal government to ensure the money is used — and state officials previously expressed confidence that the broadband dollars would be spent in full.
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dollars → spend → confidence
The pulled funds represent more than a quarter of the more than $200 million in pandemic relief dollars originally designated for broadband expansion.
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funds → pull → expansion
The $52 million has been redirected to multiple programs including supporting mental health care in jails, a state program to combat food insecurity and the state’s efforts to increase multifamily housing development.
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million → redirect → development
Rural areas in Nevada (and across the country ) have long struggled with high-speed internet access, lagging behind urban centers.
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areas → struggle → centers
Nevada has engaged in a yearslong effort to right the ship, but it has been tumultuous.
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it → engage → ship
A significant portion of the funding is coming from the 2021 Biden-era Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
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portion → come → program
The Trump administration earlier this year significantly reduced Nevada’s slice of the project.
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administration → reduce → project
Because of the complicated nature of the state’s efforts — which relies on multiple funding sources and has faced bumps in the road, such as sudden federal rescissions of funds — Appel said it’s unclear when and how these areas might see broadband buildout.
uncertain
areas → rely → buildout
However, state officials have long expressed confidence that the broadband dollars would be spent on time.
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dollars → express → time
“Are we going to be able to get these projects done by Dec. 31, 2026?
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projects → go → Dec.
The answer is yes,” then-OSIT Director Brian Mitchell said last October.
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Mitchell → say → ?
In April, Appel told lawmakers that “I have confidence in this, as far as its ability to get done.”
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I → tell → ability
At Thursday’s meeting of the state’s Interim Finance Committee — a panel of lawmakers that makes funding decisions when the Legislature is not in session — Assm. Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas) criticized that change in tune from state leadership.
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Watts → make → leadership
“Part of this frustration is aimed at OSIT, and particularly at previous leadership that I think downplayed the risks of us ending up in this exact situation,” he said.
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he → aim → situation
But warning signs were flashing a few months ago.
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signs → flash → ?
During the committee’s August meeting, Nathan Whittacre, the CEO of Stimulus, hinted that some parts of the project would not finish in time.
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parts → hint → time
There had been delays in securing utility poles because of fires in Washington, and a new requirement for a franchise agreement delayed the project for about one month.
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requirement → secure → month
Stimulus had also bid for certain BEAD funding with the understanding that the Pahrump project would serve as a hub to expand broadband to nearby rural areas.
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project → bid → areas
The company is in the process of reviewing those bids, Appel said.
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Appel → review → bids
There is also an opportunity for the Pahrump region to receive money as part of a second round of BEAD funding allocations, Appel said, but there’s no guarantee that this will happen.
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this → be → allocations
“This has been clear as mud,” Watts said.
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Watts → say → mud
“It’s again very frustrating because we know that there’s going to be impacts to broadband access to our communities, but we don’t know what they are or when.”
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they → ’ → communities
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