As part of the second round of stimulus package broadband funding, the Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday $1.2 billion in funding for 126 rural broadband initiatives in 38 states and tribal areas. "The broadband projects announced today will give rural Americans access to the tools they need to attract new businesses, jobs, health care and educational opportunities," Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release.
USDA said the largest award went to the West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative, which received $123.8 million to construct fiber-optic communication that will provide very fast Internet access, up to 20 megabytes per second. The company, which according to its website became West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications in October 2009, serves more than 21,000 households in 11 counties. It will spend 69 percent of its award in Kentucky and 31 percent in Tennessee. Another big award along the border, almost $66.5 million to Highland Telephone Cooperative, will aid McCreary County, Kentucky and Scott County, Tennessee.
VTel Wireless Inc., the winner of $116 million in grants and loans, said the deal put Vermont "in line to become the first ... to bring high-speed wireless Internet access to every resident," Sam Hemingway of the Burlington Free Press reports.
Rural schools also stand to gain from USDA's broadband funding. "These investments will fund projects to improve connections to rural communities and Native American tribal lands, bringing broadband to more than 1,900 schools, serving 550,000 students, and many of the students' homes," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a news release. "These projects will include more than 300 schools currently in unserved areas, providing the opportunity for a high-speed connection to 82,000 students for the first time." The full list of funded projects is here.
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