Zayo has won a $27.8 million funding grant from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to expand middle-mile infrastructure and deliver equitable Internet access across Dallas County, Texas.
The project will enable local internet service providers (ISPs) to extend high-speed internet to most needy areas, including approximately 24,000* households in Dallas County that currently lack home internet access. It will also catalyze future economic growth and innovation in the region.
A lack of adequate middle-mile infrastructure means that many of the county’s communities face deep inequities in Internet access and affordability, limiting opportunities for remote work, online education, and virtual healthcare.
By constructing and upgrading over 60 miles of middle-mile network infrastructure across Dallas County and in up to 10 priority zip codes, selected based on a general needs assessment, Zayo’s new middle-mile fiber network in Dallas County will directly address these regional disparities in digital services.
Fiber connectivity is only one element of Zayo’s mission in Dallas County.
Zayo is also partnering with Texas-based national nonprofit Compudopt, which provides technology access and education to under-resourced youth and their communities. Through a $150,000 investment over two years, Zayo will fund the distribution of 300 laptops including two years of multi-language tech support and warranties, to Dallas County students and school-aged children.
Zayo said this funding, combined with “Compudopt’s digital literacy and workforce development curriculums for new Internet users, this initiative is expected to impact approximately 1,500 individuals positively.”
Posing itself as a partner to states, Zayo has been tasked with several middle-mile projects, including the Dallas County Middle-Mile Fiber Network project.
It follows Zayo's recent middle-mile initiative in Nevada and its National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)-funded Oregon-California-Nevada route.
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