White House Releases 1st Round of Broadband Stimulus Funds
Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday the White House is releasing $4 billion of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to expand broadband internet service to unserved and underserved areas. This is the first round of ARRA funds aimed at expanding broadband and creating jobs to build such infrastructure.
”Today’s announcement is a first step toward realizing President Obama’s vision of a nationwide 21st-century communications infrastructure, one that encourages economic growth, enhances America’s global competitiveness, and helps address many of America’s most pressing challenges,” Biden said during an event in Wattsburg, Pa.
ARRA provided $7.2 billion to the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to accelerate broadband deployment in areas of the country that have been without high-speed infrastructure.
Of that funding, NTIA will use $4.7 billion to expand broadband infrastructure, grow public computer center capacity, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. RUS will invest $2.5 billion to enable broadband deployment in rural communities.
“The Commerce Department’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program will reach the last frontiers of America’s information landscape, and the investments it makes in inner-city neighborhoods and rural communities will spur innovation and pave the way for private capital to follow,” Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke said. “This first wave of funding will help create jobs, jumpstart additional investment, and provide model projects that can better inform our national broadband strategy.”
NTIA and RUS will be accepting applications for loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to be awarded by each agency under a single application form. The White House says this approach will ensure that the agencies’ activities make the best use of funds and make it easier for applicants to apply.