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Bokeelia earns award through Broadband Opportunity Program

By Staff | Mar 3, 2023

Governor Ron DeSantis recently announced the first set of awards through the Broadband Opportunity Grant Program to expand access to broadband internet for Florida’s underserved communities. More than $144 million was awarded for 58 projects in 41 Florida counties for broadband internet expansion that will impact nearly 160,000 unserved residential, educational, business, and community locations.

“I am proud to be in Santa Rosa County to announce the first awards through Florida’s Broadband Opportunity Program,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Broadband internet access creates jobs and enhances educational opportunities for Floridians. I look forward to continued investments through this program to ensure Florida families have access to important resources no matter where they live.”

“Broadband internet service is essential for workforce development, education, and healthcare. Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida has taken monumental steps to bring reliable, high-speed internet to all Floridians,” said Department of Economic Opportunity Deputy Secretary Ben Melnick. “There is no doubt that the projects awarded today will shape the future of broadband in Florida, and we look forward to supporting the Governor’s vision for a connected economy.”

Administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), the Broadband Opportunity Program funds the installation and deployment of broadband internet infrastructure in unserved Florida communities, providing valuable access to telehealth, economic, educational, and workforce development opportunities to offer a brighter future for all Floridians.

The following local projects will be awarded through the Broadband Opportunity Program:

• Bokeelia ($63,311) — to add 1.1 miles of fiber optic cable to provide FTTH services to 110 unserved locations within Lee County with minimum symmetrical download and upload speeds of 200 MBPS.

• Lehigh Acres ($3,988,532) — to add 126 miles of fiber optic cable to provide FTTH services to 1,998 underserved locations in eastern Lee County with minimum symmetrical download and upload speeds of 1 GBPS.

• Lehigh Acres ($4,111,225) — to deploy fiber optic cable service to 2,640 unserved and underserved locations within Lee County with minimum download speeds of 50 MBPS and upload speeds of 10 MBPS.

• City of Punta Gorda; Port Charlotte ($2,397,636) — to provide FTTH services to 1,469 unserved or underserved residential customers and 195 businesses in Charlotte County with 1GBPS or higher symmetrical download and upload speeds.

For additional information about the Office of Broadband, visit www.FloridaJobs.org/Broadband.