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State officials are in the process of implementing the
Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment, or BEAD Program, a
federal grant program that aims to get all Americans online by
funding partnerships between states or territories, communities
and stakeholders to build infrastructure where high-speed
internet is currently unavailable.
It is estimated that 1.3 million households in Illinois do not
have a subscription to high-speed internet.
Devon Braunstein, director of the Illinois Office of Broadband,
said Illinois will be receiving a sizable portion of the $42
billion going out to states.
“Illinois was allocated $1.04 billion dollars to connect all
unserved, underserved locations as well as community anchor
institutions,” said Braunstein. “The primary use of these funds
is to deploy broadband service and all the capital costs that
come with deploying that service.”
The proposed low-cost broadband service option for
BEAD-supported networks in Illinois includes costs of $30 per
month or less, inclusive of all taxes and fees with no
additional non-recurring costs to the consumer. The program will
provide typical download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upload
speeds of at least 20 Mbps.
The Illinois Office of Broadband plans to use continued
monitoring and public reporting to ensure that BEAD-funded
internet connections are affordable for middle-class households
around the state.
In June 2020, the Illinois General Assembly directed the
Illinois Broadband Advisory Council to study various questions
related to broadband access and affordability, including cost
estimates for universal broadband access where existing
broadband infrastructure is insufficient.
It is unclear how long it will take to expand broadband access
to rural areas of Illinois, but some estimations put the
timeline at about 10 years.
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