SB3683 - Illinois Broadband Deployment, Equity, Access, and Affordability Act of 2022

• Establishes a statewide broadband service grant program administered by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to fund construction and deployment of broadband service into unserved areas, with maximum grants of $10,000,000 per project or applicant.

• Restricts grant awards to private broadband providers (not governmental entities or educational institutions) and prohibits imposing open network architecture requirements, rate regulation, or different service terms as conditions of funding.

• Requires competitive grant selection based on applicant experience, financial capacity, project viability, network scalability, community development potential, and ability to provide discounted service to low-income households.

• Mandates Department publication of award recommendations on its website, establishes a 60-day public comment period to allow objections before final awards, and requires grantees to submit semi-annual reports for 3 years after project completion.

• Exempts applicant trade secrets, financial information, and proprietary data from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.