085-2 Wyo. Code R. §§ 2-3 - Application process; application requirements

(a) An eligible applicant shall submit an application to the Council on a form prescribed by the Council. The Council shall be responsible for receiving and reviewing applications, entering into contracts, and authorizing the distribution of funds subject to approval by the Governor or their designee.

(b) On the Council's prescribed form, an eligible applicant shall provide the following information:

(i) A summary of the proposed project;

(ii) The location of the proposed project, including a shape file depicting the location and boundaries of the proposed project area or, for a middle-mile project, a map depicting the location and endpoints;

(iii) The type and quantity of broadband infrastructure to be deployed for the project, including initial speeds to be achieved and initial price of the service to be provided;

(iv) Evidence demonstrating the applicant's experience and ability in building, operating and managing broadband service networks;

(v) Evidence regarding the unserved nature of the area where the project is to be located, which may include but is not limited to:

(A) Any broadband provider's response which asserts the unserved nature of the proposed project area;

(B) Data from Form 477 of the Federal Communications Commission; and

(C) Data from the Broadband Map.

(vi) The number of households and businesses passed as well as the percentage of households passed in relation to the most current number of households in the project area which shall have access to broadband service as a result of the project or whose broadband service shall be upgraded as a result of the project;

(vii) Acknowledgment by the governing body, and any partnering business entity/entities by a person with legal authority to bind the business entity, that funding may only be provided in accordance with a contract executed in conformance with W.S. 9-12-1501 through 1509, and which is subject to availability of, and approval for distribution of, funds.

(A) If the application is not submitted jointly with a business entity, an account of the request for proposals issued by the governmental entity applying and responses to the request, if any; and

(viii) Additional information as required by Staff from applicant to enable the Council to properly assess the application for funding. Staff may request an applicant modify an application based on current broadband access in the proposed project area prior to award of funding under this program.

(c) The Broadband Manager is available to assist applicants with the development of projects and the preparation of applications made under this Section.

(d) A governmental entity which qualifies as an eligible applicant under W.S. 9-12-1501(c)(ii) shall develop a request for proposals inviting business entities to participate in projects proposed for funding.

(e) At least thirty (30) days prior to the first day of the funding period for which applications may be submitted, the Council shall publish on its official website the specific criteria and quantitative weighting scheme or scoring system to be used by the Council in the evaluation and ranking of applications.

(f) Staff shall review each application to determine eligibility and completeness within fifteen (15) working days of receipt wherever practical.

(i) Otherwise-eligible applicants submitting incomplete applications shall be provided an opportunity to amend or correct the application and must do so within ten (10) working days of notice of any identified insufficiency or incompleteness. Applications which remain incomplete after this period shall not be considered further.

(g) Complete applications shall be forwarded by Staff to the Advisory Council for review with a recommendation to approve or deny the application.

(i) Staff shall prioritize proposed projects recommended to the Advisory Council on the basis of the actual scores resulting from the project evaluation. This score is not intended to be the only basis for a recommendation by Staff nor award decision by the Board.

The final recommendation and award decision on any proposed projects shall be at the discretion of the Board and the Governor or their designee.

(ii) The Advisory Council shall consider each complete application and shall refer the application to the Board with a recommendation of "fund as requested" or "do not fund."

(h) Under extraordinary circumstances, the Advisory Council may recommend a project to the Board contingent on a waiver of these rules for that project if the Advisory Council determines such a waiver would be consistent with the purpose of the Program. The Board may, by majority vote, waive any requirement(s) in this Section. Any such waiver action shall be noted in the meeting minutes and shall be considered non-precedential and shall bind neither the Board nor the Advisory Council on future actions related to waivers.

Notes

085-2 Wyo. Code R. §§ 2-3

Adopted, Eff. 9/22/2021.