§ 4-4-41-8 — Broadband provider registration with program; public broadband portal; broadband provider bidding for provision of broadband service to unserved addresses

(a) The office shall contact broadband Internet
providers to solicit the providers' registration with the program. The
office shall not:
(1) require a provider to provide any proprietary business
information to the office for purposes of participating in the
program; or
(2) require a provider to participate in the program.
(b) The office shall create and administer a public broadband portal:
(1) that is accessible to individuals through the office's website
and through a mailing address designated by the office for the
purpose of public access to the portal; and
(2) through which an individual may submit the individual's
residential or business address to report that minimum broadband
Internet connectivity is unavailable at the address.
The public broadband portal created and administered by the office
under this section must solicit information as to whether one (1) or
more eligible students reside at an address that is reported by an
individual under subdivision (2). The office may contract or consult
with one (1) or more third parties in the creation or administration of
the public broadband portal required by this section.
(c) At least every three (3) months, the office shall:
(1) post addresses, including ZIP codes and any reported
information as to whether an eligible student resides at an
address, submitted under subsection (b)(2) to a website that is
accessible only to registered providers; and
(2) not less than twenty-four (24) hours after the addresses are
posted, send notice of the posting to registered providers by
electronic mail.
(d) Not later than ten (10) business days after a registered provider
receives notice of a posting of addresses under subsection (c), the
registered provider may provide notice to the office of any posted
address at which the registered provider's minimum broadband Internet
service is available.
(e) If the office does not receive notice under subsection (d)
regarding an address within ten (10) business days after posting the
address under subsection (c), the office shall, not later than twenty (20)
business days after the expiration of the ten (10) business day period
described in subsection (d), transmit to each registered provider a bid
notification for provision of broadband Internet service at the address.
(f) A registered provider that receives a bid notification for an
address under subsection (e) and wishes to submit a bid for provision
of broadband Internet service to the address must, not later than sixty
(60) days after receiving the bid notification, send to the office a bid
that includes:
(1) a proposal for making a line extension from the provider's
existing broadband Internet infrastructure to the address;
(2) an estimate of the state's share of the cost for the line
extension; and
(3) a statement of the amount of the cost of the line extension that
the provider agrees to bear.
(g) The office shall, not later than thirty (30) business days after the
close of the sixty (60) day bidding period for an address under
subsection (f), evaluate the bids received and select the provider whose
bid presents the lowest cost to the state for extension of the provider's
broadband Internet infrastructure to the address.
(h) As used in this section, "eligible student" means a student who
is:
(1) a resident of Indiana;
(2) less than twenty-three (23) years of age; and
(3) enrolled in a school in Indiana providing any combination of
kindergarten through grade 12 instruction.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.89-2021, SEC.11 and P.L.158-2021, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.1-2025, SEC.13.