OSIT announces $43.5 million federal grant award to improve internet connectivity in rural Nevada

CARSON CITY, NV – The Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) today announced the State has been awarded $43.5 million to build the Eastern Nevada Middle Mile Fiber Network, a 431-mile fiber optic network that will stretch throughout rural eastern Nevada. This open-access middle-mile network will significantly expand network capacity throughout urban, suburban, and rural regions across the state and will greatly enhance the capacity of last-mile networks to deliver affordable, high-speed Internet access to over 21,000 locations that are unserved or underserved today.

“We are working to provide every Nevadan with access to high-speed internet that is affordable, reliable, and scalable,” said Brian Mitchell, Director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology. “Rural Nevada requires significant investments in middle-mile infrastructure to support future last-mile residential investments. This project is a big step towards meeting our goals. I am grateful to our Congressional delegation and NTIA for their support.”

Funding for the Eastern Nevada Middle Mile Fiber Network will come from the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the US Department of Commerce and State funds. Total funding allocated to the project will top $87 million.

The Eastern Nevada Middle Mile Fiber Network will facilitate better connectivity for unserved and underserved areas in eastern Nevada along US 93 from Las Vegas to Wells. The State will build ubiquitous, open access, middle mile infrastructure along this route that will result in robust, redundant pathways to major internet exchange points, a range of lit middle mile services offered at affordable pricing comparable to that available in metropolitan areas, and long-term dark fiber IRUs available to competing companies. OSIT estimates that the project will result in improved Internet access for approximately 21,000 rural residential locations.

The Nevada Middle Mile Fiber Network project is a part of the larger High Speed Nevada Initiative with the goal of universal access to high speed internet that is affordable, reliable, and scalable. Over the next four years, over $500 million will be dedicated to broadband infrastructure and digital equity and adoption initiatives. For more information, please visit: https://osit.nv.gov/Broadband/Broadband/ or email highspeednv@gov.nv.gov.