Deshotel’s Louisiana broadband is leader in nation

The following press release was announced by the office of Avoyelles State Rep. Daryl Deshotel:
28 May 3, 2024

Louisiana proves to be at the top of the list when it comes to the performance of its State Broadband Office, ConnectLA. According to a report released by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), “The Louisiana State Broadband Office (SBO), known as ConnectLA, led the nation in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity programmatic development.

ConnectLA continues to operate on an expedited timeline for successful deployment by the spring of 2024. Louisiana was the first BEAD recipient of all 56 states and territories to receive approval of its Five-Year Action Plan and Initial Proposal.” “After 5 years of hard work Louisiana has the Nation’s leading broadband program,” said Representative Daryl Deshotel. “I would like to thank Governor Landry, Veneeth Iynegar, Thomas Tyler, and all of my colleagues who trusted me to spearhead this program.

This is the result of putting the people of Louisiana ahead of lobbyists and companies. As your representative, I won’t be bought and will always put you first. I’ve resisted the lobbyist attempts to control a broadband rollout that benefits them instead of the people. Although we’ve come a long way, we still have work to do!” With the $1.355 billion BEAD allocation from the federal government announced in July 2023, Louisiana continues to move one step closer to reaching its goal of ensuring every Louisianan has access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet.