$308M broadband
proposal turned in
The state has submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce its proposal to use $308 million in federal funds to expand broadband infrastructure to reach 79,000 underserved Arkansans, the state’s broadband director said Thursday.
“We look forward to working with the (federal government) to review and finalize the results of our best-in-class, market-driven approach. Today brings us one step closer to universal connectivity across Arkansas,” Glen Howie, director of the Arkansas State Broadband Office, said in an email.
The state released its proposal for the roughly $1 billion Broadband Equity, Deployment and Access Program, or BEAD, earlier this month, which would provide 76% of underserved locations with end-to-end fiber optic connections. Satellite internet access will be available for 16% of the locations.
The BEAD Program started in 2021 and provided the state $1 billion to invest in broadband, a high-capacity transmission technology that is more than 100 times faster than dial-up internet. Under the proposal, 100% of BEAD-eligible locations will receive broadband access.
If the state receives federal approval and final authorization from the state Legislature by Dec. 4, construction of the new broadband systems could begin as soon as the first half of 2026, according to a news release.
The federal government could reject the proposal and encourage the state to spend less.
— Lucas Dufalla
4 property deals
made for $13.5M
Colliers Arkansas recently facilitated the sale of four industrial properties in Northwest and Central Arkansas for nearly $13.5 million, the company said Thursday.
The sale of properties in Van Buren, Little Rock, North Little Rock and Springdale represent three separate transactions in which buyers and sellers were all limited liability companies. The deals closed Aug. 27, 28 and 29, according to a news release.
Properties sold include industrial and flex office space.
“Since the pandemic, we have observed a sharp increase in the need for large warehouse and manufacturing space across the state, and, as large industrial space has become harder and harder to come by, office/industrial flex space has become the hot commodity of 2025,” Colliers Arkansas President Isaac Smith said in a statement.
Colliers Arkansas is the state’s largest property management and full-service commercial real estate services organization.
— Lucas Dufalla
Index gains 10.02
to close at 922.07
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 922.07, up 10.02 points.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.