City of Magazine receives $1.025 million grant for rural broadband

The Arkansas Department of Commerce awarded the city of Magazine $1,025,692 from its Arkansas Rural Connect (ARC) broadband grant program. The city will work in partnership with Magazine Telephone Company and the project will deploy fiber to homes in Magazine.

“I am thankful for local companies like Magazine Telephone Company,” Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston said in a statement. “They continue to invest in their community and provide solutions to local issues.”

The Arkansas Department of Commerce received $19.3 million in CARES Act funds for ARC grants after an approval from the CARES Act Steering Committee and the Arkansas legislature. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was approved by Congress earlier this year to provide aid to individuals, businesses and state and local governments in response to the pandemic.

Grant recipients must expend the COVID-19 federal funds by Dec. 30 of this year. Additionally, $4.7 million is available in state funds for projects that would extend beyond December 30. The goal of the program is to provide high-speed broadband to rural communities. The department is evaluating applications with a focus on projects that can deploy broadband to qualified areas before Dec. 30.