Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), Lane County, and Douglas Fast Net (DFN) jointly announced today that $8.5 million from the Oregon Broadband Office to complete the Lane and Douglas County Rural Reach Project to bring high-speed, reliable broadband internet to thousands of rural residents by 2026.
This funding will bring affordable and reliable, high-speed internet access to more than 1,900 homes across rural Lane County and parts of rural Douglas County. A total of 11 project sub-areas are slated for funding across both counties. Of the locations, 1,485 are currently unserved by “broadband” (i.e. they have no service, or service below 25 Mbps upload and 3 Mbps download).
“Because the scoring criteria of the BDP [Broadband Deployment Program] weighted lack of service heavily, the priority areas in Lane County were identified almost exclusively based on their concentration of unserved and underserved locations,” noted Interim LCOG Planning Manager Jacob Callister. “We are thrilled with how many locations will get improved service through this BDP award, but we know that it does not fully close the digital divide for everyone in Lane County.”
The project will begin in 2025. All awarded funds must be utilized, and projects must be operational by December 2026.
“We are thrilled to expand on our broadband deployments in both Lane and Douglas Counties thanks to this award,” DFN CEO Todd Way said. “Founded in 2001 by Douglas Electric Cooperative, DFN’s mission has always aimed to ensure that our rural friends and neighbors have access to essential broadband services. This award significantly advances our mission, helping us bring reliable internet connectivity to more communities.”
“Access to highspeed broadband is a literal lifeline for rural communities,” said Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch, whose district covers rural communities in south and east Lane County. “Connecting thousands more rural families through this project will continue to help them access critical job-related, educational, and other resources that often give more connected communities a competitive edge.”
“Broadband isn’t just about gaming and movies; it has become as essential as running water and electricity. It’s about whether rural communities can survive. The challenge in rural areas is it’s just not economical for private parties to invest there alone. LCOG has the ability to coordinate partnerships so projects like this become reality,” said Brenda Moore, Lane Council of Governments Executive Director.
Project History
In November and December 2024, the Oregon Broadband Office announced that it had issued Notices of Intent to Award a total of nearly $141,000,000 through the Office’s Broadband Deployment Program (BDP), part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF). This funding will support the construction and deployment of high-speed, reliable wired broadband internet at speeds of 100/100 Mbps to unserved and underserved locations across the state.
As part of its application for funding, Lane Council of Governments, in partnership with Lane County, identified priority internet service areas, and competitively secured private Internet Service Provider DFN in late 2023. DFN, which has operated in rural markets in southwestern Oregon for over 20 years, will be the formal recipient of the BDP funds.
The Oregon Broadband Office received 62 applications requesting approximately $445 million for broadband infrastructure projects around the state. The total program allocation is $157 million. This oversubscription shows the demand to bring reliable broadband to all Oregonians.
Awardees of BDP funds were ranked based on a composite score that prioritizes outcomes:
- Social Vulnerability Index – Applicants receive a 5% score bonus if 80% or more of their proposed project service locations are located within areas designated as “Moderate to High” or “High” on the state of Oregon’s Social Vulnerability Index.
- Unserved Locations – 5 points for other eligible locations where wired 25/3 service already exists.
- Affordability – Applicants with projects that can offer service at $30/month or less receive an additional 5 points per location. Applicants with projects that can provide service at $50/month or less receive two additional points per location.
To learn more about the Lane and Douglas County Rural Reach Project, including whether specific locations are included in the project, DFN, LCOG, and Lane County have jointly developed a BDP project webpage at www.lcog.org/broadband. Additional context, contact info, and other resources are available at that site.
For more information about the Oregon Broadband Office, visit www.broadband.oregon.gov.
