Arkansas Administrative Code

15 CAR § 189-316. Funding awarded. (a) When interdependent projects are awarded funding, they shall be treated as a single project to the extent possible for purposes of reporting requirements, certifying completion of deployment, assessing penalties, etc. (b) After grant awards …

15 CAR § 189-317. After coverage becomes available. (a)(1) When broadband coverage is available to at least ninety-five percent (95%) of the locations in the project footprint and all other project objectives have been achieved, the ISP may: (A) Alert the Arkansas Department of C…

15 CAR § 189-401. Eligibility criteria. (a)(1) Municipalities, unincorporated communities, and counties, or interdependent sets of these jurisdictions as described in 15 CAR § 183-311(a) and following, will be eligible for ARC grant funding if they meet the following criteria: (A…

15 CAR § 189-501. Generally. (a) Each application shall be initiated by the municipality, represented by a mayor or county judge, or unincorporated community or county, represented by a county judge, that stands to gain broadband service as a result of the project. (b) Applicatio…

15 CAR § 189-502. Municipality requirements. Municipalities, unincorporated communities, and counties will be required to submit: (1) The name of the community applying to get service; (2) The rank of the application in the community’s order of preference if multiple applications…

15 CAR § 189-503. Internet service provider requirements. ISPs shall be required to submit: (1) An implementation plan that explains how broadband will be deployed to reach all residences in the municipality, unincorporated community, or county, including the technology that will…

15 CAR § 189-504. Stakeholder requirements. Stakeholders listed as coapplicants on a grant other than public officials representing the applicant communities and ISPs shall submit the following documents: (1) A declaration that they have read all the application materials and aff…

15 CAR § 189-601. Application review and approval process. (a) The application review and approval process will consist of four (4) stages. (b)(1) First, the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office will determine, for each application or set of interdependent application…

15 CAR § 189-602. Plan confirmation by the internet service provider. (a)(1) After each ARC grant is approved, the ISP receiving the grant will have forty-five (45) days to send it to a licensed professional engineer for confirmation that the plans are technically adequate. (2) T…

15 CAR § 189-701. Federal complementarity. (a)(1) In addition to state and private efforts to deploy broadband, the federal government is making extensive, well-funded efforts to promote rural broadband deployment, principally through the Federal Communications Commission and the…

15 CAR § 189-801. Build phase. (a) During the build phase of the project, the ISP shall not be required to deliver broadband service to premises in the project footprint. (b)(1) During the build phase of the project, the ISP shall be required to submit quarterly reports to the Ar…

15 CAR § 189-802. Internet service providers that complete deployment to 95% of locations. (a)(1) When the ISP has completed deployment to ninety-five percent (95%) of locations in the project footprint, it shall notify the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office and the…

15 CAR § 189-803. Internet service providers that fail to deploy service to 95% of locations. (a) If the ISP fails to deploy to ninety-five percent (95%) of locations in the project footprint by November 2022, the ISP is obligated to return all ARC grant funds disbursed to it for…

15 CAR § 189-804. Research and reporting after completion of deployment. (a) From the completion of deployment until project closure, the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office shall continue to conduct desk research from time to time to ensure that 25/3 broadband servi…

15 CAR § 189-805. Succession in municipal or county offices. In case of succession in the offices of mayor or county judge for a community that has received an ARC grant-funded project, the mayor or county judge shall notify his or her successor of his or her rights and obligatio…

15 CAR § 189-806. Early project closure. (a) Early project closure may be requested by the ISP or initiated by the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office based on evidence that broadband service is no longer being provided by the ISP to ninety-five percent (95%) or more…

15 CAR § 189-807. Change in ownership. No penalties will be assessed against an ISP that ceases to provide broadband in an ARC grant-funded project footprint due to ownership changes, if the successor entity continues to provide the service.

15 CAR § 190-101. Background. (a)(1) The Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission ("director") issues this part to respond to urgent telecommunication needs in this state for communities impacted by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (2) On or about Februar…

15 CAR § 190-102. Expedited review. (a) Expedited review and approval of completed applications. (1) Applications must be completed to be entitled to expedited review. (2) Due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, completed application submissions will receive an ex…

15 CAR § 190-103. Distribution of funds. (a) Due to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), approved projects will immediately receive disbursement of funds up to the maximum amount of funding allowable under the ARC program. (b)(1) Depending on the project, the State Broadband Manager, wit…

15 CAR § 190-104. Monitoring fund disbursements. (a)(1) Applicants that accept funding under this part shall follow all the requirements under the ARC rules. (2) This includes this section for monitoring deployment and use of funds until the conclusion of the project. (b) Applica…

15 CAR § 190-105. Monitoring project. (a) The Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office or its designee will be assigned to monitoring of implementation of broadband infrastructure construction awarded to approved applicants. (b) The broadband office or its designee: (1) W…

15 CAR § 191-101. Background. (a)(1) The Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission ("director") issues this part to respond to urgent telecommunication needs in this state for communities impacted by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (2) On or about Februar…

15 CAR § 191-102. Electric cooperatives, other entities, and deadlines. (a) Eligibility — Electric cooperatives and other entities. (1)(A) Electric cooperatives or their subsidiaries and any other entity that has a one-year track record of providing voice, internet, broadband, an…

15 CAR § 192-101. Background. (a)(1) The Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (“director”) issues this part to respond to urgent telecommunication needs in this state for communities impacted by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (2) On or about Februar…

15 CAR § 192-102. Purpose and qualification for receiving American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds. (a)(1) The purpose of this part is to conform the ARC program with the Interim Final Rule for Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and any subsequently promulgated rules…

15 CAR § 192-103. Deadlines — Unserved and underserved areas. (a)(1) Broadband infrastructure builds using American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2, funds must be completed no later than December 31, 2023. (2) The Department of Commerce Broadband Office will determine …

15 CAR § 192-104. Maps. (a)(1) The Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office, at its discretion, may request from the applicants maps and other information necessary to make informed decisions as to the proper unserved or underserved locations in Arkansas to expend funds. …

15 CAR § 193-101. Background. (a)(1) The Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (“director”) issues this part to respond to urgent telecommunication needs in this state for communities impacted by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. (2) On or about Februar…

15 CAR § 193-102. Purpose and qualification for receiving American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds. (a)(1) The purpose of this addendum is to harmonize with recent federal guidance as it relates to dispensing American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2, funds, including fun…

15 CAR § 193-103. Project funding. (a)(1) The Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office will fund up to seventy-five percent (75%) percent of the total cost of the project. (2) The applicant shall fund a minimum of twenty-five percent (25%) of the project costs. (3)(A) Int…

15 CAR § 193-104. Deadlines — Unserved and underserved areas. (a) American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2, funds must be obligated by December 31, 2024, and all broadband network deployments completed by December 31, 2026. (b) The Arkansas Department of Commerce Broad…

15 CAR § 193-105. Maps and rule obligations. (a) The Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office, at its discretion, may request from the applicants maps and other information necessary to make informed decisions as to the proper unserved or underserved locations in Arkansas…

15 CAR § 193-106. Effective date — Coordination with Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program rule. (a) This part is effective ten (10) days after filing with the Secretary of State of the final rule that has been reviewed and approved by the Legislative Council. (b) This p…

15 CAR § 193-107. Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program request for project challenge information. (a) Definitions. The following definitions were added: (1) “Challengers” means a: (A) Unit of local government; (B) Nonprofit organization; or (C) Broadband service provide…

15 CAR § 194-101. Background. (a) The Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office (ARConnect) issue this part to implement the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. (b) The BEAD program allocates state gran…

15 CAR § 194-102. Definitions. As used in this part: (1) “25/3 Mbps” means an internet speed of twenty-five megabits per second (25 Mbps) for downloading content and three megabits per second (3 Mbps) for uploading content; (2) “100/20 Mbps” means an internet speed of one hundred…

15 CAR § 194-201. DSL modifications. (a) ARConnect will treat locations that the National Broadband Map shows to have available qualifying broadband service (i.e., a location that is “served”) delivered via DSL as “underserved”. (b) This modification will better reflect the locat…

15 CAR § 194-202. Enforceable commitments. (a) ARConnect will enumerate locations subject to enforceable commitments by using the BEAD Eligible Entity Planning Toolkit and consulting several data sets, including, but not limited to: (1) The Broadband Funding Map published by the …

15 CAR § 194-203. Permissible challengers. During the BEAD challenge process, ARConnect will only allow challenges from nonprofit organizations, units of local government, and internet service providers, as recognized by the State of Arkansas.

15 CAR § 194-204. Permissible challenges. ARConnect will only allow challenges on the following grounds: (1) The identification of eligible community anchor institutions, as defined by ARConnect; (2) Community anchor institution BEAD eligibility determinations; (3) BEAD eligibili…

15 CAR § 194-205. Challenge process overview. The challenge process conducted by ARConnect will include four (4) phases, spanning approximately ninety (90) days: (1)(A) Publication of eligible locations. (B) Prior to beginning the Challenge Phase, ARConnect will publish the locat…

15 CAR § 194-206. Evidence and review approach. (a) To ensure that each challenge is reviewed and adjudicated based on fairness for all participants and relevant stakeholders, ARConnect will review all applicable challenge and rebuttal information in detail, without bias, before …

15 CAR § 194-207. Area and MDU challenge. (a) ARConnect will administer area and multiple dwelling unit (MDU) challenges for challenge types A, S, L, D, and T. (b)(1) An area challenge reverses the burden of proof for availability, speed, latency, data caps, and technology if a d…

15 CAR § 194-208. Speed test requirements. (a)(1) ARConnect will accept speed tests as evidence for substantiating challenges and rebuttals. (2) Each speed test consists of three (3) measurements, taken on different days. (3) Speed tests cannot predate the beginning of the challe…

15 CAR § 194-209. Transparency plan. (a)(1) To ensure that the challenge process is transparent and open to public and stakeholder scrutiny, ARConnect will, upon approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, publicly post: (A) An overview of the ch…

15 CAR § 194-301. Coordination with other broadband rules. (a) This part is applicable only to funding allocated under and projects undertaken pursuant to the BEAD program. (b) In the event of any conflict between the terms of this part and Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant …

15 CAR § 195-101. Overview. (a)(1) In order to position Arkansas to compete for economic development projects more effectively, the state must have an inventory of high-quality industrial development sites that are prepared for quick development. (2) Prospective companies are sea…

15 CAR § 195-102. Definitions. As used in this part: (1) “Economic development organization” means a local or regional organization that is recognized by the local governing body to: (A) Act as the primary point of contact for economic development projects with the Arkansas Econo…

15 CAR § 195-103. Arkansas Site Development Grant Program funding. (a) The Arkansas Economic Development Commission may utilize any funds appropriated and available to provide for the Arkansas Site Development Program to fund grants to eligible applicants. (b)(1) Program grants m…