Oregon is the latest state to receive its Capital Projects Fund (CPF) allocation, as the U.S. Department of Treasury on Wednesday announced it would award $156.7 million to connect over 17,000 Oregonian homes and businesses.
The money will fund Oregon’s Broadband Deployment Program (BDP), which prioritizes projects for locations currently lacking speeds of 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. The Treasury Department approved $149 million for broadband infrastructure projects, along with $7.7 million for administrative purposes.
Additionally, the Oregon BDP funds last-mile broadband infrastructure in areas without speeds of 100/20 Mbps, which is also the minimum speed threshold for projects funded by the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
“This unprecedented funding will strengthen Oregon’s broadband infrastructure and expand access to quality internet service,” said Oregon Governor Tina Kotek in a statement. “This award, which is part of President Biden’s Investing in America effort, will help rural and low-income communities across Oregon develop high-quality modern broadband infrastructure and expand access to telehealth, job opportunities, education and so much more.”
The Treasury Department began awarding CPF allocations to states in June 2022. Since then, it’s doled out $8.4 billion out of its $10 billion allotment for “broadband, digital technology and multi-purpose community center projects” covering all 50 states.
All told, the Treasury Department estimates the CPF will expand broadband access to over two million locations. The Oregon allocation comes shortly after Oklahoma scored over $167 million in CPF funding.
For BEAD projects, Oregon will receive $688.9 million. The state has already released the first volume of its BEAD initial proposal for public comment, detailing how it plans to conduct its challenge process.
According to the Oregon Broadband Office, the state has also secured $6.5 million from Oregon’s Universal Service Fund as well as a $500,000 State Planning grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.