Broadband access coming to rural Americans
September 28, 2009
As a part of the massive Recovery Act enacted by Congress earlier this year, the Obama administration has earmarked $7.2 billion to help improve access to high-speed internet connections for people in rural or low-income areas.
The money would underwrite public and private initiatives to construct new broadband infrastructure, including cables and wireless broadband towers, as well as purchase up-to-date computing equipment for public libraries and schools.
While some industry leaders have expressed displeasure at some of the disclosures required to get at the stimulus finds, interest in the federal program has been high, with bids in for several times the value of the stimulus - about $28 billion compared to the $7.2 billion available. The large volume of bids means that the government will delay any decisions about the stimulus money's disbursement until at least November.
Experts say that the government must exercise great care with the distribution of these stimulus funds. "What interstate highways were to the 20th century, broadband is to the 21st century," Tennessee state Senator Roy Herron told the Gannett News Service.
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