Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 4 - ADMINISTRATION › Part XXI - Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities › Chapter 4 - Scoring › Section XXI-405 - Factors Subject to Scoring

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. 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+
AUTHORITY NOTE:
				  Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 51:2370-2370.16.