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Three More States Announce Broadband Projects

As new broadband projects continue to be announced across all 50 states, we’re bringing you a closer look at some of the efforts to bring high-speed Internet access to every American home and business. Here is a look at some of those new broadband projects being announced:

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Four More States Announce Broadband Projects

Here is a look at four more statewide broadband projects getting underway after the USDA announced $1.2 billion in additional high-speed Internet access and adoption projects:

 

North Carolina: $83 million has been awarded to four projects that will expand rural broadband access across the state, building up thousands of miles of fiber and creating new jobs. Read about the projects here.

 

North Dakota: $24 million has been awarded for two projects to bring broadband and high-speed video services to underserved and rural parts of the state. The project is expected to reach more than 5,000 people, 450 businesses and 15 other community institutions, while creating at least 248 new, long-term jobs. North Dakota’s congressional delegation, Rep. Earl Pomeroy and Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan said in a written statement that the funding will “spur job creation and economic development” in the state. “This funding will improve broadband connectivity for thousands of residents and hundreds of businesses in rural North Dakota,” they wrote. Read more here.

 

Ohio: $14.5 million has been awarded to five companies who will expand broadband access to more than 20,000 homes, 450 businesses and 14 community institutions. "(Broadband) is in our time what electricity was in the 1920s and 1930s and the highway system in the 1950s and 1960s," said Rep. Zack Space said. "The gaps that exists in technology in the health and safety field will widen without this technology. Read more about the projects here.

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Broadband Competition is Thriving Across America

A new report from ID Insight finds that states with the lowest average income actually in fact have the greatest broadband competition. Leading the pack are Arkansas, North Dakota and South Carolina. From the report: "We see that the five states with the lowest income have the most competition, while the five states with the highest income have the least competition.”

The report also finds that states with larger populations do not necessarily have the best access to service providers. For instance, Nebraska was found to have greater consumer choice than New York. “It very well may be that specifically because less affluent states did not attract one of the largest providers (at least for a while), several smaller regional or local providers were able to establish stronger market positions," the report concludes.

 

You can read the full ID Insight report here and read the Ars Technica story here.

 

Three More States Announce Broadband Initiatives

Here is a closer look at three more statewide broadband projects getting underway. They include an unprecedented access project to bring high-speed Internet to tribal areas and plans to upgrade several statewide community centers which provide job training and educational opportunities:

 

In Arizona: An ambitious 27,000 mile fiber deployment project in the Navajo Nation is getting underway. “The Navajo Nation has traditionally suffered from a lack of connectivity,” said Monroe Keedo, IT manager for NTUA. “The Navajo Nation will benefit from this project in four big ways: economic development, education, public safety and health care.” Read the full story here.

 

In Nevada: A $4.7 million investment will go toward upgrading broadband access at eight Las Vegas community centers. 29 sites and 100 computer work stations are expected to be equipped with previously unavailable high-speed Internet access. Read the Las Vegas Sun story here.

 

In North Dakota: The town of Hillsboro will receive nearly half a million dollars in grants and loans to upgrade nearly 800 broadband sites in the Traill County town. You can read the full breakdown here.