“The ConnectMT application window closed on April 29, 2022, for $266 million in allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act.  

The State of Montana received 80 requests from 24 applicants in 30 counties to serve 158,019 locations.  Applicants requested a total of $521,488,380 to fund $715,507,870 in projects.  There were $182,584,410 in matching funds for the proposed projects.  Proposals included 74 fiber to the premises projects for over $470 million in requests, 6 fixed wireless projects for over $37 million in requests, and 2 combination (fixed wireless and fiber) projects for over $13 million in requests.  The attached spreadsheet highlights the summary of all projects submitted by each applicant.  The statewide broadband map has also been updated to reflect the proposed service areas for each application. 

The challenge window will open May 6, 2022, through June 4, 2022, for applicants to provide information on requested funding regarding locations that are either currently served or where other federal funding sources are already committed to provide service to proposed locations in an application.    Applicants interested in submitting a challenge can do so through the ConnectMT website at connectmt.mt.gov under the apply section.”