The Nebraska Public Service Commission approved an order last week opening a docket to initiate the implementation of Legislative Bill 388, the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act.

The new law creates the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program, which will provide grants to fund the deployment of broadband networks in underserved areas.

“This is an exciting time at the Public Service Commission,” PSC Chair Dan Watermeier said in a news release. “We are looking forward to implementing a program that will help to bring broadband to more Nebraskans over the next two years.”

Applications for the first round of grants must be submitted to the PSC by Oct. 1 for fiscal year 2021-22. The deadline is July 1 for the following fiscal years.

To assist in the development of application criteria and a scoring mechanism for grant funding, the PSC will invite comments due on or before the close of business Tuesday, June 29. Once comments are received, a hearing will be held in the docket (C-5272) in the PSC hearing room beginning at 1 p.m., Tuesday, July 13.

“We’ve got an aggressive timeline to get this program up and running,” Watermeier said. “Through this docket we are offering interested parties an opportunity to participate in the process.”