(a) The office shall prioritize applications that:
(1) expand access to and adoption of broadband service in designated areas that are eligible for funding in which the lowest percentage of addresses have access to broadband service; and
(2) expand access to broadband service in public and private primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education.
(b) In making award decisions, the office shall consider and may give preference to applications based upon the following evaluation criteria:
(1) application participant(s) experience;
(2) technical specifications including broadband transmission speeds (Mbps upload and download) that will be deployed as a result of the project;
(3) estimated project completion date;
(4) matching funds amount, percentage, and source of matching funds;
(5) cost effectiveness and overall impact as measured by the total project cost, the total number of prospective broadband service locations to be served by the project, the proportion of unserved and underserved locations to be served by the project compared to the number of serviceable locations with the designated area, the proportion of recipients to be served by the project compared to the population in the designated area, and the project cost per prospective broadband service recipient;
(6) geographic location including, but not limited to, designated areas located in rural areas where because of population density the cost of broadband expansion is characterized by disproportionately high capital and operational costs;
(7) the number and percentage of unserved and underserved households and businesses in the project area;
(8) community, non-profit, or cooperative involvement or participation in the project;
(9) affordability of broadband services in the designated areas in which the proposed project is located prior to the deployment of broadband services as a result of the project;
(10) consumer price of broadband services that applicant proposes to deploy as a result of the project;
(11) participation in federal programs that provide low-income consumers with subsidies for broadband services;
(12) small business and historically underutilized business involvement or subcontracting participation; and
(13) any additional factors listed in a notice of funds availability published by the office.
Source Note: The provisions of this §16.40 adopted to be effective February 19, 2023, 48 TexReg 685