AB 573

This bill requires the Public Service Commission to award grants for

constructing wireless broadband and cellular service infrastructure. Under the bill,

PSC must give priority to projects that expand wireless broadband service or cellular

service in areas designated by the Federal Communications Commission as

unserved or underserved. Grant recipients must contribute matching funds equal

to at least 20 percent of the grant. The bill requires the governor to allocate

$70,000,000 of the funds accepted under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of

2021 (ARPA) for these grants.

The bill also requires PSC to establish and maintain a publicly accessible map

of fixed, mass market broadband service availability in this state. Under the bill,

broadband service providers must disclose the properties they serve to PSC twice per

year, and PSC must update the broadband service availability map twice per year.

The bill requires the governor to allocate $5,000,000 of the funds accepted under

ARPA for this broadband mapping.