Wyoming's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Plan, Vol. 2 Now Available for Public Comment

Cheyenne, Wyo. – The Wyoming Broadband Office, part of the Wyoming Business Council (WBC), has been allocated $348 million in federal funding through the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. After releasing its Initial Proposal Volume I for public comment in August and September, the WBC is pleased to release the next and final portion of its Initial Proposal, Initial Proposal Volume II, for public comment through Nov. 17, 2023.

Initial Proposal Volume II (IPV2) specifies how Wyoming will use its BEAD allocation to achieve state and federal goals around broadband deployment, including launching a deployment subgrantee selection process in 2024. IPV2 also details Wyoming’s plans to comply with federal requirements around promoting affordability of the deployed broadband, ensuring workforce readiness, and monitoring/reporting on deployment progress, among other items.

While the Business Council is looking for feedback on its entire Initial Proposal Volume II from all interested Wyoming residents, businesses, municipal governments, and community organizations, the WBC is especially interested in feedback on the following topics: 

• Feedback from all Wyomingites (especially those who are part of a Covered Population, as defined by the federal government) on the Wyoming-specific scoring incorporated into the deployment subgrantee rubric (Section 2.4.2) and the low-cost and middle-class affordability plans (Sections 2.12 and 2.13)
• Input from potential subgrantee applicants (internet service providers, rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, etc.) regarding Wyoming’s approach to project area definition (Section 2.4.6) and low-cost and middle-class affordability (Sections 2.12 and 2.13)
• Thoughts from other state agencies on Wyoming’s proposed approach to workforce readiness (Section 2.8), cost and barrier reduction (Section 2.10), and natural hazard risk (Section 2.11)

If you wish to participate in the public comment period, please visit wbc.pub/BEAD to download the draft Initial Proposal Volume II and complete the public comment form. The public comment period will close on Nov. 17, 2023.

The WBC also invites all interested stakeholders to attend the next Statewide Broadband Update on Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. MDT. The Wyoming Broadband Office will share an overview of the principal components of Initial Proposal Volume II and discuss how to participate in the public comment process. Please register in advance by visiting this link.