La. Admin. Code tit. 4 § XXI-405
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 8, August 20, 2024
Section XXI-405 - Factors Subject to ScoringA. Applicant Experience. The office shall award points based upon the applicant's experience, technical ability, financial wherewithal in successfully deploying and providing broadband service, and the matching funds percentage of the total cost of the project. For experience, the office shall reference, by date of application submittal and without regard to the potential project, the number of years the applicant has provided internet services; the number of households to which the applicant currently provides broadband internet service access (at least 100:20 Mbps); the number of internet service infrastructure projects completed by the applicant, funded in part through federal or state grant programs, prior to the date of application submittal; penalties paid by the applicant, relative to internet service infrastructure projects funded in part through federal or state grant programs, prior to the date of application submittal; and whether the applicant, a subsidiary or affiliate of the applicant, or the holding company of the applicant has ever been a defendant in any federal or state criminal proceeding or civil litigation as a result of its participation in an internet service infrastructure project funded in part through federal or state grant programs, prior to the date of application submittal. Points shall be awarded as follows. Years Providing Internet Service | Points |
No prior service. | 0 |
4 years or less | 1 |
5 years to 9 years | 2 |
10 years to 14 years | 3 |
15 years to 19 years | 4 |
20 years or longer | 5 |
Households Provided Access | Points |
None | 0 |
4,999 or less | 1 |
5,000 to 14,999 | 2 |
15,000 to 24,999 | 3 |
25,000 to 49,999 | 4 |
50,000 or more | 5 |
Completed Internet Projects | Points |
None | 0 |
1 to 3 projects | 1 |
4 to 6 projects | 2 |
7 to 9 projects | 3 |
10 to 14 projects | 4 |
15 or more projects | 5 |
Penalties Paid | Points |
One or more | 0 |
None | 5 |
Defendant in Criminal or Civil Proceeding | Points |
One or more | 0 |
None | 5 |
NOTE: If an applicant has not participated in an internet service infrastructure project funded, in part, through federal or state grant programs, the applicant shall not receive points in the "penalties paid" or "defendant in criminal or civil proceeding" scoring criteria.
B. Technical Ability. The office shall award points based upon the broadband transmission speeds (Mbps download and upload) that will be deployed as a result of the project. If more than one set of transmission speeds are offered to consumers, scoring shall be based on the fastest transmission speeds offered. The office shall award points based upon the scalability of the project's technology and infrastructure beyond the project's current maximum speed offering for future increases in bandwidth. Should a project include a mix of wireline and fixed wireless technology solutions, broadband speed and scalability criteria shall be scored based upon the technology that serves a majority of a project's prospective broadband recipients. The office shall reference the average distance, in miles, between prospective broadband recipients to be served by the project and shall award points to the five applications with the longest average distance between prospective broadband recipients. Points shall be awarded as follows. Broadband Speeds (Mbps Down: Mbps Up) | Points |
At least 100:20 | 1 |
100:100 and beyond | 10 |
Scalability (Mbps Down: Mbps Up) | Points |
At least 100:100 | 1 |
At least 300:300 | 5 |
At least 500:500 | 10 |
At least 1000:1000 | 15 |
Average Distance (in miles) Between Prospective Broadband Recipients | Points |
Longest average distance | 25 |
2nd longest average distance | 20 |
3rd longest average distance | 15 |
4th longest average distance | 10 |
5th longest average distance | 5 |
6th longest average distance or shorter | 0 |
C. Financial Wherewithal. The office shall reference both a project's total/infrastructure cost per prospective broadband recipient and GUMBO cost per prospective broadband recipient. A project's total/infrastructure cost per prospective broadband recipient shall be calculated by dividing a project's total/infrastructure cost by the total number of prospective broadband recipients to be served by the project. A project's GUMBO cost per prospective broadband recipient shall be calculated by dividing a project's GUMBO requested funding by the total number of prospective broadband recipients to be served by the project. In each criterion, the office shall award points to the 10 applications with the lowest costs per prospective broadband recipient. The office shall also reference the number of bankruptcies filed (prior to the date of application submission). Points shall be awarded as follows. Cost Per Prospective Broadband Recipient | Points |
Lowest cost | 10 |
2nd lowest cost | 9 |
3rd lowest cost | 8 |
4th lowest cost | 7 |
5th lowest cost | 6 |
6th lowest cost | 5 |
7th lowest cost | 4 |
8th lowest cost | 3 |
9th lowest cost | 2 |
10th lowest cost | 1 |
11th lowest cost or higher | 0 |
GUMBO Cost Per Prospective Broadband Recipient | Points |
Lowest cost | 20 |
2nd lowest cost | 18 |
3rd lowest cost | 16 |
4th lowest cost | 14 |
5th lowest cost | 12 |
6th lowest cost | 10 |
7th lowest cost | 8 |
8th lowest cost | 6 |
9th lowest cost | 4 |
10th lowest cost | 2 |
11th lowest cost or higher | 0 |
Bankruptcies | Points |
1 or more. | 0 |
No prior bankruptcies. | 2 |
D. Matching Funds. The office shall calculate the provider's matching funds percentage of the total/infrastructure cost of the project and award points based on matching funds. Points shall be awarded as follows. Provider Matching Funds (Percentage of Total/Infrastructure Cost) | Points |
25 percent | 0 |
Each additional percentage point - beyond required 25 percent. | 1 |
Each increment of 5 percentage points - beyond required 25 percent. | 5 Bonus Points |
NOTE: An applicant will receive 1 point for each percentage point of matching funds provided, beyond the required 25 percent. Additionally, an applicant will receive 5 bonus points for each increment of 5 percentage points of matching funds provided, beyond the required 25 percent. Points are awarded based upon the total percentage of matching funds provided, beyond the required 25 percent, irrespective of the number of providers contributing to a single project.
E. Local Government Support. The office shall award points based upon letters of support from local governments. The office shall reference letters submitted by a parish, municipality, or school board, or any instrumentality thereof. Letters of support eligible for scoring shall be in the form of officially and duly passed resolutions by the governing board, consisting of publicly elected members, of the parish, municipality, or school board, or any instrumentality thereof. Such a resolution shall be submitted with the application prior to the close of the application period. Points shall be awarded as follows. Local Government Letters of Support, Numbers | Points (max. 10 points) |
1 local government | 1 |
2 local government | 5 |
3+ local governments | 10 |
F. Estimated Number of Unserved Households. The office shall award points to projects based upon the estimated number of unserved households within the eligible economically distressed parish, as determined by the most recent data published by the Federal Communications Commission or the most reliable source of information available as of the close of the application period, as determined by the office. Points shall be awarded as follows. Number of Unserved Households | Points |
499 or fewer | 1 |
500 to 1,999 | 4 |
2,000 to 4,999 | 6 |
5,000 to 9,999 | 8 |
10,000 or more | 10 |
NOTE: If a contiguous project area crosses from an eligible parish into one or more eligible adjacent parishes, the project shall be deemed to be located in the parish where the greatest number of unserved households are proposed to be served.
G. Percentage of Total Unserved Households Served. The office shall award points to projects that will provide broadband service based upon the percentage of the total unserved households within the eligible economically distressed parish that the project will newly and directly serve. Unserved households served as a result of other, nonGUMBO federal or state grant programs shall not be used in the calculation of this criterion. The number of unserved households shall be determined using the most recent data published by the Federal Communications Commission or the most reliable source of information available as of the close of the application period, as determined by the office. The Office shall also award points based upon the number of households newly and directly served, as a result of the project, with current service of less than 25:3 Mbps, as a percentage of the total number of households proposed to be served by the project. Points shall be awarded as follows. Percent of Unserved Households Newly and Directly Served | Points |
5 percent or less | 1 |
6 percent to 10 percent | 4 |
11 percent to 24 percent | 6 |
25 percent to 49 percent | 8 |
50 percent or more | 10 |
NOTE: If a contiguous project area crosses from an eligible parish into one or more eligible adjacent parishes, the project shall be deemed to be located in the parish where the greatest number of unserved households are proposed to be served.
Percent of Households with Service of Less than 25:3 Mbps Newly and Directly Served by a Project, Relative to the Total Number of Households Proposed to be Served by a Project | Points |
Less than 1 percent | 0 |
1 percent to 24 percent | 5 |
25 percent to 49 percent | 25 |
50 percent to 74 percent | 50 |
75 percent to 99 percent | 75 |
100 percent | 100 |
H. Unserved Businesses Served. The office shall award points to projects that will provide broadband service to unserved businesses newly and directly served by the project located within the eligible economically distressed parish, as determined by the most recent data published by the Federal Communications Commission or the most reliable source of information available as of the close of the application period, as determined by the office. Unserved businesses served as a result of other, non-GUMBO federal or state grant programs shall not be used in the calculation of this criterion. A residential-based business shall be classified by the applicant as either a residence or a business and shall not be counted as both. Points shall be awarded as follows. Number of Unserved Businesses | Points |
5 or fewer | 1 |
6 to 10 | 2 |
11 to 15 | 3 |
15 to 19 | 4 |
20 or more | 5 |
I. Leverage of Existing Infrastructure. The office shall award points based upon the applicant's ability to leverage its own or nearby or adjacent broadband service infrastructure in the proposed project area. For reference, the office will refer to the percentage of total mileage of project infrastructure composed of preexisting infrastructure. The office will also refer to the project's proposed estimated construction timeline, as measured from the award of the grant agreement, and award points in the following categories: construction start date and construction completion date. Construction completion date scoring will utilize two separate scoring criteria, one for wireline and one for fixed wireless. Should a project include a mix of wireline and fixed wireless technology solutions, the project completion date criterion shall be scored based upon the technology that serves a majority of a project's prospective broadband recipients. Points shall be awarded as follows. Percentage of Mileage of Preexisting Infrastructure | Points |
None | 0 |
9 percent or less | 1 |
10 percent to 19 percent | 2 |
20 percent to 29 percent | 3 |
30 percent to 39 percent | 4 |
40 percent or more | 5 |
Construction Start Date | Points |
12 months or longer | 1 |
Within 8 to 11 months | 2 |
Within 5 to 7 months | 3 |
Within 2 to 4 months | 4 |
Within 1 month | 5 |
Wireline Construction Completion Date | Points |
24 months or longer | 1 |
Within 18 to 23 months | 4 |
Within 13 to 17 months | 6 |
Within 7 to 12 months | 8 |
Within 6 months or less | 10 |
Fixed Wireless Construction Completion Date | Points |
24 months or longer | 1 |
Within 18 to 23 months | 2 |
Within 13 to 17 months | 3 |
Within 7 to 12 months | 4 |
Within 6 months or less | 5 |
J. Consumer Price. The office shall award points based upon the ultimate price of broadband service to the consumer as a result of the proposed project and shall reference the average price of all broadband service packages offering transmission speeds that meet or exceed 100:20 Mbps offered to consumers by an applicant as the result of the proposed project. The office shall award points to the 10 applications with the lowest average price of all broadband service packages offering transmission speeds that meet or exceed 100:20 Mbps offered to consumers by an applicant as a result of the proposed project. Points shall be awarded as follows. Consumer Price (Lowest Average Package Price) | Points |
Lowest average price | 20 |
2nd lowest average price | 18 |
3rd lowest average price | 16 |
4th lowest average price | 14 |
5th lowest average price | 12 |
6th lowest average price | 10 |
7th lowest average price | 8 |
8th lowest average price | 6 |
9th lowest average price | 4 |
10th lowest average price | 2 |
11th lowest average price or higher | 0 |
NOTE: An applicant that has offered broadband service to at least 1,000 consumers for a period of at least 5 consecutive years is required to offer broadband service at prices that are, at least, consistent with offers to consumers in other areas of the state.
K. Local Government In-Kind Contributions and Matching Funds. The office shall award points to projects receiving in-kind contributions or matching funds from a local government for eligible projects within the jurisdictional area of the local government. A local government is defined as a parish, municipality, or school board, or any instrumentality thereof. Each local government has the option to provide in-kind contributions or matching funds to a project, and more than one local government can provide in-kind contributions or matching funds to any one project. Points shall be awarded as follows. Local Government In-Kind and Matching | Points |
No in-kind contribution or funding match | 0 |
Each percentage point of total/infrastructure project cost provided by in-kind contributions or funding matches | 1 |
Each increment of 5 percentage points of total/infrastructure project cost provided by in-kind contributions or funding matches | 5 Bonus Points |
NOTE: An applicant will receive 1 point for each percentage point of the total/infrastructure cost of a project provided by local government through in-kind contributions or matching funds. Additionally, an applicant will receive 5 bonus points for each increment of 5 percentage points of the total/infrastructure cost of a project provided by local government through in-kind contributions or matching funds. Points are awarded based upon the total percentage of in-kind contributions and matching funds provided by local governments, irrespective of the number of local governments contributing to the project.
L. Small Business Entrepreneurship. The office shall award points to projects in which the eligible grant recipient is a small business entrepreneurship certified by the Hudson Initiative (R.S. 39:2001 et seq.) or the Veteran Initiative (R.S. 39:2171 et seq.). Points shall be awarded as follows. Certified Hudson/Vet Initiative Grant Recipient | Points |
Grant recipient certified by the Hudson and/or the Veterans Initiative | 10 |
M. Small Business Entrepreneurship Subcontracting. The office shall award points to projects in which the eligible grant recipient commits to a good faith subcontracting plan to contract with or employ a small business entrepreneurship certified by the Hudson Initiative (R.S. 39:2001 et seq.) or the Veteran Initiative (R.S. 39:2171 et seq.) to substantially participate in the performance of the project. Points shall be awarded as follows. Certified Hudson/Vet Initiative Subcontractor(s) | Points (max. 20 points) |
Each subcontractor certified by the Hudson and/or the Veterans Initiative | 2 |
N. Summary of Scored Sections. As set forth in this Section, the scored categories of GUMBO program applications or project areas shall be as follows, repeated for comprehensive clarity. Summary |
Scored Section | Points |
A-1. Experience (Years Providing Internet Service) | 0 - 5 |
A-2. Experience (Households Provided Access) | 0 - 5 |
A-3. Experience (Completed Internet Projects) | 0 - 5 |
A-4. Experience (Penalties Paid) | 0 - 5 |
A-5. Experience (Defendant in Criminal or Civil) | 0 - 5 |
B-1. Technical Ability (Broadband Speeds) | 1 - 10 |
B-2. Technical Ability (Scalability) | 0 - 15 |
B-3. Technical Ability (Distance Between Broadband Recipients) | 0 - 25 |
C-1. Financial Wherewithal (Cost Per Prospective Broadband Recipient) | 0 - 10 |
C-2. Financial Wherewithal (GUMBO Cost Per Prospective Broadband Recipient) | 0 - 20 |
C-3. Financial Wherewithal (Bankruptcy) | 0 - 2 |
D. Provider Matching Funds | 0 - 1 - 5+ |
E. Local Government Letters of Support | 0 - 1 - 10 |
F. Number of Unserved Households in Parish | 1 - 10 |
G-1. Percent of Total Unserved Households Now Served | 1 - 10 |
G-2. Percent of 25:3 Mbps in Project | 0 - 100 |
H. Unserved Businesses Now Served | 1 - 5 |
I-1. Leverage of Existing Infrastructure (Percentage of Mileage of Preexisting Infrastructure) | 0 - 5 |
I-2. Leverage of Existing Infrastructure (Timing of Construction Start Date) | 1 - 5 |
I-3. Leverage of Existing Infrastructure (Timing of Wireline Construction Completion) | 1 - 10 |
Or |
I-4. Leverage of Existing Infrastructure (Timing of Wireless Construction Completion) | 1 - 5 |
J. Consumer Price | 0 - 20 |
K. Local Government Matching | 0 - 1 - 5+ |
L. Certified Hudson/Vet Initiative Grant Recipient | 0 - 10 |
M. Certified Hudson/Vet Initiative Subcontractor | 0 - 20 |
Total Possible Points: | 6 - 322+ |
La. Admin. Code tit. 4, § XXI-405
Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Division of Administration, Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity, LR 47, Amended LR 47, Amended LR 481511 (6/1/2022), Amended LR 48, Amended LR 49AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 51:2370-2370.16.