Louisiana is trying to get every home reliable internet. Here are some of the obstacles.

Louisiana is in the middle of a five-year campaign of more than a billion dollars to get every home access to reliable, high-speed internet — but several state lawmakers say some companies are putting roadblocks in the way.

“There are significant gaps when it comes to mobility and coverage in Louisiana,” said Veneeth Iyengar, executive director of ConnectLA, the state’s broadband office.

One June 26, the federal government awarded Louisiana $1.36 billion to fix those gaps, the eighth-largest allocation in the country. Iyengar said the funds come with a deadline.

“It’s a five-year shot-clock,” he said. “We have to commit and spend the money, and the work has to be done.”

In 2021, Louisiana received $177 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which aimed to increase spending on broadband infrastructure. The state created the Granting Underserved Municipalities Opportunities Act (GUMBO), where companies could bid on broadband opportunities.

But in some cases, providers questioned whether areas were truly unserved. This delayed the process, said Rep. Daryl Deshotel, who authored the GUMBO grant act.

“What they were trying to do is just hold onto areas as long as possible, to prevent somebody else from coming in,” he said.

Providers that protested ranged from huge companies to smaller local businesses.

“One company appealed 50 projects across the state,” said Rep. Jeremy LaCombe, who represents several of the rural areas the program is trying to help. “They’re grinding to a halt projects that were going to bring thousands of homes fiber, because they went and objected. I feel like companies in bad faith just objected to everything.”

A 2022 LSU survey found that about 75% of Louisianans have broadband access in their home. But as anyone without coverage knows, that 25% is critical.

Internet access became more necessary during COVID-19, when people relied on internet access for work, school and telehealth.

At a March event celebrating expanded AT&T broadband access, Gov. John Bel Edwards said significant progress has been made, but lack of access is still a problem for rural families.

“If you have to drive your kid to McDonald’s to get internet to do their homework, something is wrong with that picture,” he said, adding that driving to a McDonald’s or other internet access point isn’t even an option for many rural families.

A new strategy

Now, with the new $1.36 billion investment, the state has created GUMBO 2.0, with provisions that it hopes will prevent company holdups.

“We’re learning every year as we administer these funds what does and doesn’t work,” Iyengar said.

This time around, the state will have a 90-day challenge process before each grant round, where internet service providers can challenge locations. In addition, the federal government has created a map that Deshotel said is more accurate than the original.

Companies will have to submit challenges to the map on an address level, which a third party will adjudicate.

“With this new process, we shouldn’t have these protests in the future,” Deshotel said.

Looking at the map, it’s easy to spot areas across central and north Louisiana where up to 40% of the population does not have internet access. Compared to swaths of the Northeast and Midwest, Louisiana glows red, and according to BroadbandNow, which compares internet access and service providers, Louisiana ranks 46th in the U.S. in terms of internet coverage, speed and availability.

Internet providers have historically seen less incentive to invest in less-populated areas, but Deshotel said internet access is vital for economic development across Louisiana.

“I think this is a once in a generational opportunity,” he said. “We, the Legislature, I believe, were tasked with making sure that we do not blow this opportunity. We have to make sure that everyone who needs service is gonna get service. It’s very important that we administer these programs.”

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In early July, Gov. Edwards celebrated the groundbreaking of GUMBO’s largest investment to date, a project that will bring cable internet to 9,140 households and 535 small businesses in Avoyelles Parish. About $9.7 million will be funded through the federal grant, while Swfyt Telecom, the cable internet provider that is completing the work, will fund an additional $10 million.

Once broadband is available in a community, the government is working with families to increase affordability.

Through the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, eligible households can receive a benefit of up to $30 a month — up to $75 on tribal lands — to reduce the cost of broadband service. About 904,200 Louisiana households are eligible for the ACP, but only 461,200 have enrolled, according to Edwards’ office.

“We’re trying to solve not for 90% of the problem, but 100%,” Iyengar said. “What that means is making sure we achieve universal coverage across Louisiana. It’s not a question of if someone will ever get internet, it’s when.”