Holmes municipalities awarded $14 million in broadband funding

Three Holmes County municipalities were awarded $14,694,865 in funding as part of the Broadband Opportunity Grant Program which is administered by the Department of Economic Opportunity.

In total, more than $144 million was awarded for 58 projects in 41 Florida counties. The funding will be used for broadband internet expansion which includes installation and deployment of broadband internet infrastructure in unserved Florida communities. Gov. Ron DeSantis made the announcement Feb 8. 

“I am proud to be in Santa Rosa County to announce the first awards through Florida’s Broadband Opportunity Program,†DeSantis said. “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.â€

The City of Bonifay was the recipient of two awards totaling $9,982,597. Of those, $4,984,073 is earmarked to provide fiber to the home services to 259 unserved premises in the rural area north of Bonifay with speeds up to 200 megabits per second.

The second of the awards totals $4,998,524, which will be used to provide fiber to the home services to 266 unserved premises in the vicinity of Bonifay with download and upload speeds of 200 megabits per second.

The Town of Westville was awarded $1,072,596 to provide fiber to the home services for unserved areas at download and upload speeds up to 200 megabits per second.

The Town of Ponce de Leon will be able to deploy fiber to the home services to 259 unserved homes, businesses and farms with download and upload speeds up to 200 megabits per second with the $3,639,672 it was awarded.

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