Louisiana

State Broadband Office Excellence

The Louisiana State Broadband Office (SBO), known as ConnectLA, led the nation in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity programmatic development. ConnectLA continues to operate on an expedited timeline for successful deployment by the spring of 2024. Louisiana was the first BEAD recipient of all 56 states and territories to receive approval of its Five-Year Action Plan and Initial Proposal.

Connecting Louisiana through BEAD

In 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) worked with ConnectLA on plans for how Louisiana could use its $1.355 billion BEAD allocation to ensure that each and every Louisianan has access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet.

While visiting Louisiana over the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalonda Young and Senior Advisor to the President and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu joined an exciting bipartisan broadband infrastructure event at the Bayou Country Children’s Museum in Thibodaux. Citizens in Terrebonne Parish are still recovering from the infrastructure damages of Hurricane Ida two years ago.

Continuing Career Training in Louisiana

Louisiana plans to use $27 million for continued workforce training and certification at the state’s community and technical colleges to meet expected workforce shortages in the telecommunications and construction industry.

Public Bipartisan Engagement

Louisiana’s statewide bipartisan support for achieving BEAD and Digital Equity Program goals is important to its successful Internet for All approach. Louisiana held its $1.35 billion BEAD allocation announcement event at the Bunkie Youth Center in Avoyelles Parish on July 6, 2023. NTIA Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson, Governor John Bel Edwards, dozens of local elected officials, and hundreds of in-person attendees and stakeholders representing Louisiana’s diverse culture and communities from all corners of the state attended the announcement.

Louisiana Federal Program Officer (FPO) Builds a Community of Grantees 

NTIA meets regularly with representatives from Louisiana’s other NTIA broadband grant recipients. This includes recipients of four Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program grants, two Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) grants and one Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) grant: