Arkansas Rural Connect program funded, awaits definitive plans

Arkansas broadband policymakers are beginning 2022 with $100 million in their hip pocket as they await results of an intensive mapping effort to identify rural communities most in need of high-speed internet service.

Right now, the Arkansas Rural Connect program is confident it has at least $100 million in federal funding — and officials are hoping that will at least double — to support build-outs across the state.

Arkansas is scheduled to receive another $158 million from the federal Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, though it’s not clear how much will be devoted to broadband; the governor has the discretion to move the dollars into economic development projects to battle the pandemic.

There are no state dollars yet dedicated to broadband deployment, according to Steven Porch, who heads the Arkansas program.

In any case, it’s likely that actual broadband development projects won’t begin until the latter half of the year as the Rural Connect program waits for recommendations from the Broadband Development Group, “boots-on-theground” consultants hired to go from community to community to assess where deployment is most needed. That need is tremendous. Arkansas already has 93 applications totaling $472 million ready to move forward. “We are waiting on our broadband consultants to complete their work so we can compare what we have in our queue to the actual needs of Arkansans,” Porch says.

Along with the consultant’s evaluation and recommendations, the effort will require state legislators’ approval before shifting money to providers building out networks.

Even more, moving forward also could require challenging maps produced by the Federal Communications Commission, which has mapping information that it says identifies communities in Arkansas and nationwide that are not receiving high-speed internet. Those maps, however, have been questioned for accuracy and reliability by broadband specialists across the country.

Porch says the Rural Connect program is counting on the Broadband Development Group to produce a more definitive outline that identifies Arkansas communities most in need.

“We know the FCC maps are blatantly inaccurate,” Porch said. “Areas that ap

pear to be covered according to the FCC are not covered.”

Given all the approvals and work required, it likely will be the latter half of this year before new broadband development projects are underway. Officials, however, are ready to go.

“Once we have our plan laid out and it’s clear on where the needs are, we’re going to take an aggressive approach to it,” Porch said. “We’re going to be able to strike quickly.”

So far, the Arkansas Rural Connect program has awarded $386.5 million in grants to provide high-speed broadband service in rural areas. The 160 projects have been financed with $157.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds; $118.1 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds; and $4 million in state funds.

That effort has delivered broadband to more than 109,000 homes across the state and reached more that 250,000 Arkansans, according to state records.

FRETTING OVER INFLATION

Inflation, which spiked to a 39-year high over the past year, remains the top concern for American small businesses.

A member survey from the National Federation of Independent Business — the nation’s largest small business association — found that 22% of business owners said inflationary pricing is the most important problem facing their operations moving into 2022.

State-specific figures were not reported. Inflation, however, is just one of many problems Arkansas small businesses face, according to the federation’s state director Sylvester Smith.

“Inflation is only the latest challenge facing Arkansas’ small businesses since the pandemic began almost two years ago,” Smith said in a statement. “We need our elected leaders to help the state’s job creators navigate these challenges and recover economically as quickly and completely as possible.”

Businesses also said they remain pessimistic that economic conditions will improve over the next six months, that supply-chain snarls are reducing inventories and that they are raising wages to lure workers.

INVESTMENT WARNING

Arkansans searching for investment opportunities should be wary of sinking money into volatile unregulated investments such as cryptocurrency and digital assets, state regulators are warning.

The Arkansas Securities Department last week issued guidance for investors with a top-five list of investor threats. The department encourages caution when buying volatile unregulated investments, especially cryptocurrency and digital assets.

Here are the top five:

■ Investments tied to cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

■ Fraud offerings related to promissory notes.

■ Money scams offered through social media and internet investment offers.

■ Investment advice tied to precious metals-based investments.

■ Financial schemes connected to Self-Directed Individual Retirement Accounts.

State Securities Commissioner Eric Munson urged investors to be cautious about private offerings, securities that are exempt from registration requirements and preempts states from enforcing investorprotection laws.

Cryptocurrencies and digital assets seeking investors seem to be especially troublesome.

“Prospective investors are encouraged to proceed with caution, do their research, evaluate their financial goals, talk to a financial professional and call the department for information on the company offering the investment,” Munson said.

The department can be reached at (501) 324-9260.

PROMOTING LOCAL FARMERS

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Farm Credit Associations of Arkansas are joining once again to finance and promote local farmers markets across the state.

The 7th-annual Arkansas Farmers Market Promotion Program and the Arkansas Farmers Market Bag Program provide grants for farmers markets and vendors.

Grants support promotions such as signs that list names, seasons, times of operation and location details, local traditional advertising and social media campaigns. The bag initiative offers market operators or vendors the opportunity to buy reusable paper shopping bags at reduced prices.

The programs are administered by the Agriculture Department and farm credit group. Last year, the effort awarded 23 grants totaling $9,000. More than 30,000 paper bags were provided in 2021 for that program.