Title
Submit National Telecommunications and Information Administration Broadband Infrastructure Program Grant Application, Enter into Agreements to Continue Building Community Wireless Network (Ordinance S-47963)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to (1) submit an application for a National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) grant program; (2) enter into agreements with the NTIA for the purpose of accepting awarded grant funds to implement an expanded wi-fi network project, and (3) enter into agreements as needed with City partner organizations receiving a share of the NTIA grant funds as a pass-through from the City of Phoenix in accordance with the approved Intergovernmental Agreement, as necessary. Further request to authorize the City Treasurer to receive, and for the City Controller to disburse all funds in accordance with the terms of the aforementioned grants and agreements. There is no impact to the General Fund as a result of this request.
Report
Summary
Through the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTIA is making up to $288 million available in federal grant funding for the deployment of broadband infrastructure. Grants are to be awarded to partnerships between a state, or political subdivisions of a state, and providers of fixed broadband service. The NTIA expects to award grant funds within the $5 million to $30 million range. Grant funds are intended to support competitively and technologically neutral projects for the deployment of fixed broadband services that provide qualifying broadband service in an eligible service area.
On Aug. 17, 2021, the Community and Economic Development Department submitted a grant application in the amount of $20,601,125.54 to support the City's initiative to create a canopy wi-fi network system for community members and students within the Phoenix Union High School District (PUHSD). The grant application project is designed to cover 170 square miles of the Central Phoenix area utilizing a combination of technologies to meet various use cases based on the location of students, building, and community types. Through a public and private partnership with PUHSD, Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD), Phoenix College (PC), the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) and the City of Phoenix, the project will deliver a no-cost access to educational services for students throughout the designated area. No local match is required.
This request is retroactive due to the Aug. 17, 2021 NTIA grant application deadline.
To develop a long-term solution to conquer the digital divide, the City of Phoenix, MCCCD, PC, PUHSD, and GPEC have formed a Digital Divide Consortium (Consortium) to bridge the Digital Divide. This Consortium provides resources and services to implement and sustain broadband internet access for educational services to the areas with the greatest need within the PUHSD's service area. The Consortium believes that solving the Digital Divide today is critical for today's students and the workforce of tomorrow that will drive the future economy in the City of Phoenix. Without a solution, this future workforce will be left behind and may never realize their full potential.
The project’s boundaries, subject to this grant application, are located within the boundaries of the PUHSD, which includes all of the 26 high schools within the District and the elementary school districts that are the “feeder schools” to the high school district. Those elementary school districts that are located within the PUHSD boundaries include: Alhambra Elementary, Balsz Elementary, Cartwright Elementary, Creighton Elementary, Isaac Elementary, Laveen Elementary, Murphy Elementary, Osborn Elementary, Phoenix Elementary, Riverside Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary and Wilson Elementary.
This project's direct beneficiaries are the elementary, high school, and college students in the City of Phoenix. In many areas within the City, 50-70 percent of families have income below the poverty line and cannot afford broadband access to the internet. This has created a Digital Divide, in which limited access to affordable and reliable broadband connectivity creates a barrier to opportunities for education or employment. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted education from in-classroom to home-based learning almost overnight, with 100 percent of the public schools in the PUHSD going to home-based learning, making the impact of the Digital Divide on education even more apparent. To overcome these challenges, school districts have developed creative solutions to provide educational programs and services for students during the pandemic. While these efforts have served as temporary measures to help bridge the Digital Divide, these are not long-term, sustainable solutions to the problem. The need for broadband access to virtual education resources will outlive the pandemic as virtual education, and virtual interaction with education resources are expected to be needed well into the future.
On Dec. 16, 2020, City Council approved entering into an Intergovernmental Agreement with PUHSD and its feeder elementary schools and MCCCD relating to digital divide solutions for under-served areas utilizing $2 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to broaden Citywide Wi-Fi for educational purposes. Since then, the team has successfully installed and conducted testing at several beta-sites within the broader proposed area of service for viability. The beta-test sites included the PC campus, Maryvale High School, the PUHSD offices and their respective staff and students. Data collected during this process gave the partnership positive feedback and critical data on user experience and overall use of the system. Now that data has been collected from the beta-site testing, the project is now ready to scale-up and increase the wi-fi system's capacity and reach for the broader community utilizing a City Council-approved set aside allocation of $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to expand the Citywide Wireless Network Project and Partnership with PUHSD.
Federal financial assistance is needed to build the core infrastructure that this project will depend upon and leverage the existing services and capital investments connecting disparate components into a single platform from which innovations can be developed, and services can be provided to students. This grant will help fill the funding gap to complete this project which has a total cost of $34,751,125.94.
Anticipated outcomes of this project, subject to NTIA grant funds, include:
- Expanding the "Wireless Canopy of Coverage" created for Alhambra and Cartwright Elementary School Districts to all PUHSD and PUHSD feeder school districts (12 districts);
- Replicable across the different sites and locations; achieved with validated technologies utilizing private businesses secured through a procurement executed by PUHSD;
- Efficient, affordable, and sustainable solution;
- Existing installations and testing conducted at multiple sites demonstrate robust connectivity;
- Students who have need within service territory will have an Internet connection for educational purposes only- removing the disparity in the community, expanding access and availability of time for learning;
- Model designed to be easily deployable into other areas, small and large districts, rural and Native American communities; and
- Create new training, workforce development, and mentorship opportunities.
Awards for the NTIA grant program are expected to be announced in November 2021.
Financial Impact
Total funds requested for the NTIA grant application is $20,601,125.54. No General Funds are requested as part of this action. Through separate City Council actions a total of $12 million has been committed to this effort between CRF and ARPA funds.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The City Council:
- Approved an allocation of $2 million from Coronavirus Relief Funds to broaden Citywide Wi-Fi on May 14, 2020 at the City Council Policy meeting;
- Heard an update of the activities of the digital divide efforts on Oct. 27, 2020 at the City Council Policy meeting;
- Approved entering into an Intergovernmental Agreement relating to Digital Divide Solutions for under-served areas on Dec. 16, 2020 at the City Council Formal meeting;
- Allocated $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to continue building the community wireless network project at the June 8, 2021 City Council Policy meeting; and
- Will consider amending Intergovernmental Agreement 154496 with Phoenix Union High School District, its 13 public elementary feeder schools and Maricopa County Community Colleges District to add $10 million to continue building the community wireless network (digital divide) project at the Sept. 15, 2021 City Council Formal meeting.
Location
Council Districts: 4, 5, 7, and 8
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer and the Community and Economic Development Department.