| (a) The office shall prioritize applications that:
(1) expand access to and adoption of broadband service
in designated areas that are eligible for funding in which the lowest
percentage of addresses have access to broadband service; and
(2) expand access to broadband service in public and
private primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education.
(b) In making award decisions, the office shall consider
and may give preference to applications based upon the following evaluation
criteria:
(1) application participant(s) experience;
(2) technical specifications including broadband transmission
speeds (Mbps upload and download) that will be deployed as a result
of the project;
(3) estimated project completion date;
(4) matching funds amount, percentage, and source of
matching funds;
(5) cost effectiveness and overall impact as measured
by the total project cost, the total number of prospective broadband
service locations to be served by the project, the proportion of unserved
and underserved locations to be served by the project compared to
the number of serviceable locations with the designated area, the
proportion of recipients to be served by the project compared to the
population in the designated area, and the project cost per prospective
broadband service recipient;
(6) geographic location including, but not limited
to, designated areas located in rural areas where because of population
density the cost of broadband expansion is characterized by disproportionately
high capital and operational costs;
(7) the number and percentage of unserved and underserved
households and businesses in the project area;
(8) community, non-profit, or cooperative involvement
or participation in the project;
(9) affordability of broadband services in the designated
areas in which the proposed project is located prior to the deployment
of broadband services as a result of the project;
(10) consumer price of broadband services that applicant
proposes to deploy as a result of the project;
(11) participation in federal programs that provide
low-income consumers with subsidies for broadband services;
(12) small business and historically underutilized
business involvement or subcontracting participation; and
(13) any additional factors listed in a notice of funds
availability published by the office.
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