Stimulus Plan To Increase Broadband Coverage Taking Effect
The Commerce Department said on Monday that California and three other states were among the first recipients of over $6.8 million in grants to map broadband use in U.S. homes.
The mapping program is part of a $7.2 billion program under the stimulus plan. The departments of Commerce and Agriculture are administering the program to bring high speed Internet to more Americans, especially those in rural areas.
The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said current and future recipients would collect and verify the availability, speed, and location of broadband in their states.
The plan is to help policymakers determine where services are needed the most and how to increase usage where it is already available.
NTIA said the California Public Utilities Commission received $2.3 million in grants, North Carolina’s Rural Economic Development Center Inc. received $2 million, the Indiana Office of Technology received $1.3 million and the Vermont Center for Geographic Information got $1.2 million.
All 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia sent applications to the NTIA to participate in the mapping program. More grant recipients are expected to be announced soon.
"The four award recipients submitted well-formed proposals that are both fiscally prudent and serve as a model for others," NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said in a statement.
The Federal Communications Commission is crafting a national broadband plan to be submitted to Congress in February, which is estimated that total investment to expand access to all Americans and increase subscriptions could cost between $20 billion and $350 billion, depending on the quality of broadband service.
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