Ind. Code § 4-4-38-0.1 Application
Sec. 0.1. This chapter applies only to grants awarded from the fund before August 1, 2019.
As added by P.L.189-2019, SEC.2.
Ind. Code ch. 4-4-38
Ind. Code ch. 4-4-38
in effectInd. Code § 4-4-38-0.3 "Fund"
Sec. 0.3. As used in this chapter, "fund" refers to the rural broadband fund established by IC 4-4-38.5-11.
As added by P.L.189-2019, SEC.3.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-1 "Office"
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "office" refers to the office of community and rural affairs established by IC 4-4-9.7-4.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-2 "Qualified broadband project"
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "qualified broadband project" means a project for the deployment of broadband infrastructure for the provision of qualified broadband service, regardless of the delivery technology, in unserved areas in Indiana.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-3 "Qualified broadband project expenses"
Sec. 3. (a) As used in this chapter, "qualified broadband project expenses" means capital expenses directly related to a qualified broadband project, including design, construction, engineering, permitting, and testing expenses.
(b) The term does not include operating or maintenance expenses related to a qualified broadband project.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-4 "Qualified broadband provider"
Sec. 4. As used in this chapter, "qualified broadband provider" means any company, firm, corporation, partnership, or association that, at the time of submission of a grant application under this chapter:
(1) either:
(A) has been providing broadband service to at least one hundred (100) residences and businesses in Indiana for at least three (3) consecutive years; or
(B) is:
(i) a corporation organized under IC 8-1-13; or
(ii) a corporation organized under IC 23-17 that is an electric cooperative and that has at least one (1) member that is a corporation organized under IC 8-1-13;
that provides or will provide, alone or in conjunction with one (1) or more other legal entities, broadband service within the corporation's electric service territory; and
(2) has demonstrated, to the satisfaction of the office:
(A) financial;
(B) technical; and
(C) operational;
capability in building and operating a broadband network.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-5 "Qualified broadband service"
Sec. 5. As used in this chapter, "qualified broadband service" means a connection to the Internet that provides capacity for transmission at an actual speed of at least ten (10) megabits per second downstream and at least one (1) megabit per second upstream, regardless of the technology or medium used to provide the connection.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-6 "Unserved area"
Sec. 6. As used in this chapter, "unserved area" means a geographic area of Indiana, identified at the census block level, in which there is not at least one (1) provider of terrestrial broadband service offering a connection to the Internet that provides capacity for transmission at an actual speed of at least ten (10) megabits per second downstream and at least one (1) megabit per second upstream.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-7 Grants for qualified broadband projects; priorities; publication of applications; comments or objections
Sec. 7. (a) Subject to:
(1) subsection (b); and
(2) section 8 of this chapter;
the office shall establish procedures for awarding grants from the fund to qualified broadband providers for qualified broadband project expenses incurred in connection with qualified broadband projects.
(b) In awarding grants under this chapter, the office shall establish the following priorities:
(1) First, extending the deployment of qualified broadband service to areas in which:
(A) Internet connections are unavailable; or
(B) the only available Internet connections provide capacity for transmission at an actual speed of less than ten (10) megabits per second downstream.
(2) Second, extending the deployment of high speed Internet service to areas in which the only available Internet connections provide capacity for transmission at an actual speed of:
(A) not less than ten (10) megabits; and
(B) not more than twenty-five (25) megabits;
per second downstream.
(c) Subject to section 11 of this chapter, the office shall publish on the office's website all grant applications received by the office under this chapter. For each grant application received, the office shall establish a period of at least thirty (30) days from the date the application is published on the office's website under this subsection, during which time the office will accept comments or objections concerning the application. The office shall consider all comments or objections received under this subsection in making a determination as to whether to award a grant to an applicant under this chapter.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.215-2018(ss), SEC.1; P.L.189-2019, SEC.4; P.L.1-2025, SEC.10.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-8 Awarding of grants; required considerations; conditions
Sec. 8. (a) In determining whether to award a grant under this chapter in connection with a proposed qualified broadband project, the office shall consider the following:
(1) Awarding grants under this chapter with a preference for funding proposed qualified broadband projects that will provide Internet connections to the most unserved areas at the highest speeds for the lowest grant amount per area.
(2) The community's need for, and the likely economic impact of, the proposed qualified broadband project in the unserved area.
(3) Demonstrated community support for the proposed qualified broadband project, including the certification of one (1) or more communities to be served by the project as broadband ready communities under IC 5-28-28.5.
(4) The likelihood that the unserved area will not be served with qualified broadband service without state grant funding.
(5) Whether funding has been allocated for the unserved area from the federal Connect America Fund or from any other similar federal funding program.
(6) Whether the broadband infrastructure proposed in connection with the qualified broadband project is scalable to higher download and upload speeds.
(7) Awarding grants for qualified broadband projects that will serve a larger unserved area or a greater number of locations within an unserved area.
(8) The useful life of the broadband network proposed to be deployed.
(9) The technical, managerial, and financial capabilities of the applicant.
(10) The ability of the applicant to commit to providing at least twenty percent (20%) of the cost to deploy the proposed broadband infrastructure. When multiple applicants apply for a grant to provide broadband service to the same census block within an unserved area, the office may establish a preference for approving applications with a greater capital contribution by the applicant.
(11) Any proposed plans to encourage the adoption and use of broadband services within the unserved area.
(12) Any other factors the office considers appropriate to enable the deployment of broadband infrastructure to provide qualified broadband service in unserved areas in Indiana.
(b) The following conditions apply to the awarding of grants under this chapter:
(1) The office shall not award a grant with respect to any geographic area if information made available to the office, through comments or objections received under section 7(c) of this chapter or otherwise, indicates any of the following:
(A) The area is already being served by at least one (1) provider offering qualified broadband service in the area. However, any person may, in a petition filed with the office, provide evidence that one (1) or more locations within one (1) or more census blocks in the area are unserved areas. Upon receiving a petition described in this clause, the office shall notify all broadband providers operating in all census blocks included in the petition. Those broadband providers may in turn demonstrate to the office that the locations included in the petition:
(i) are already served with qualified broadband service; or
(ii) will be served with qualified broadband service not later than eighteen (18) months after the date of the application for a grant under this chapter.
(B) The area is currently being built out for qualified broadband service by a qualified broadband provider, and the construction is scheduled to be completed within one (1) year of the date of an application under this chapter.
(C) The area is currently planned for qualified broadband service expansion by a qualified broadband provider:
(i) without state grant funding; and
(ii) with project completion forecast not later than eighteen (18) months after the date of an application under this chapter.
If the office denies a grant on the basis of clause (A)(ii), (B), or (C), the qualified broadband provider involved in the current or planned project, as applicable, shall provide the office with a schedule for completion of the current or planned build out. The qualified broadband provider shall also provide the office with quarterly status updates, beginning three (3) months after the office's decision denying a grant for the area, concerning any work done toward completion of the project described in clause (A)(ii), (B), or (C). If the qualified broadband provider fails to provide a schedule for completion or a status report by the date required by the office, or if the office determines that the time frame for project completion described in clause (A)(ii), (B), or (C), as applicable, will likely not be met, the office may award a grant under this chapter with respect to the area and shall provide notice of that fact to all former applicants that were previously denied a grant under this chapter with respect to the area on the basis of clause (A)(ii), (B), or (C). The qualified broadband provider that failed to provide a schedule or report, or that failed to meet the time frame for project completion described in clause (A)(ii), (B), or (C), may not use this subdivision to subsequently challenge the awarding of a grant under this chapter with respect to the same area.
(2) The office shall not award a grant to any applicant that is receiving for the same unserved area for which a grant is sought under this chapter:
(A) a federal grant; or
(B) another state grant;
to provide qualified broadband service to the area under a grant program the express purpose of which is to provide broadband service to unserved areas.
(3) The office shall not discriminate between different types of technology used to provide qualified broadband service in connection with proposed qualified broadband projects.
(4) The office shall seek any assurances that may be necessary or appropriate to ensure that proposed qualified broadband projects will be substantially completed within the time period set forth in a grant application under this chapter.
(5) The office shall condition the release of any grant funds awarded under this chapter on:
(A) the progressive completion, as measured on a not more than quarterly basis, of the approved qualified broadband project; and
(B) operational testing, when possible, to confirm the level of service proposed in the grant application.
Once funds have been released in accordance with this subdivision, all authority and ownership of the broadband infrastructure vests with the qualified broadband provider that built the infrastructure.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-9 Office to adopt guidelines; collaboration with state and local agencies
Sec. 9. (a) The office shall adopt guidelines to implement this chapter, including guidelines governing:
(1) the form and content of requests to provide qualified broadband service to an unserved area;
(2) the form and content of applications for grants under this chapter;
(3) a competitive bidding process or a process for requests for proposals for qualified broadband projects;
(4) a process by which a broadband provider may challenge the designation of an area as unserved; and
(5) a process by which:
(A) a person may, in a petition filed with the office, provide evidence that one (1) or more locations within one (1) or more census blocks are unserved areas; and
(B) upon the filing of a petition described in clause (A):
(i) the office notifies all broadband providers operating in all census blocks included in the petition; and
(ii) those broadband providers have the opportunity to demonstrate to the office that the locations included in the petition are already served with qualified broadband service or will be served with qualified broadband service not later than eighteen (18) months after the date of the application for a grant under this chapter.
(b) In adopting the guidelines described in subsection (a) or in otherwise administering this chapter, the office may collaborate with or seek guidance from:
(1) the Indiana economic development corporation established by IC 5-28-3-1;
(2) the broadband ready communities development center established by IC 5-28-28.5-5;
(3) the Indiana department of transportation established by IC 8-23-2-1; and
(4) any other agencies of the state or of political subdivisions of the state.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-10 Annual report to general assembly; contents
Sec. 10. Not later than August 1 of each calendar year ending before January 1, 2021, the office shall submit to the general assembly a report on the office's activities under this chapter during the most recent state fiscal year, including the following:
(1) The number, amounts, and recipients of grants awarded under this chapter.
(2) The status of any funded qualified broadband projects.
(3) Expenses incurred and funds spent by the office in administering this chapter.
(4) A list of the entities, if any, that the office collaborated with in administering this chapter.
(5) An accounting of funds in the fund including funds awarded as grants under this chapter.
(6) The number of locations in Indiana to which broadband infrastructure has been deployed with the use of grant funds under this chapter, including address-level information for newly connected locations.
(7) The overall progress of the deployment of broadband infrastructure for the provision of qualified broadband service in unserved areas in Indiana.
A report to the general assembly under this subsection must be in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.189-2019, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-11 Confidential or proprietary business information; nondisclosure
Sec. 11. The office, and any agency or any political subdivision with which the office cooperates or consults in administering this chapter:
(1) shall not disclose information designated as confidential or proprietary business information by a grant applicant or recipient; and
(2) shall execute appropriate nondisclosure agreements to prevent the disclosure of confidential or proprietary business information in connection with grants awarded under this chapter.
As added by P.L.177-2018, SEC.5.
Ind. Code § 4-4-38-12 Awarding of grants from fund before August 1, 2019
Sec. 12. Before August 1, 2019, the office may award grants under this chapter from the fund to qualified broadband service providers for qualified broadband project expenses incurred in connection with qualified broadband projects.
As added by P.L.189-2019, SEC.6.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/4Fetched: 10/17/2026