The recent Berkman broadband report found that the $7.2 billion in stimulus funding allocated in the U.S. for broadband was in line with what other countries are doing – indeed, “several countries [including South Korea, Japan, Sweden] have invested over the long term as a strategic choice rather than as a stimulus measure.” The U.S. is spending more in the stimulus mode than other nations, but less than the most publicly-funded nations – who are (by far) the leaders in fiber deployment.
Berkman (at 232): To the extent that one sees the long-term trajectory of the fixed element of next generation networks to be in fiber closer to – and ultimately at – the home, we can perhaps say that substantial government investments seem to be associated with approaching that goal more rapidly.
This week, the Department of Commerce announced a whole slew of broadband grants using stimulus funding. There’s a particularly exciting $126M grant to West Virginia (factsheet) included. WV is a large black spot on the map of broadband availability in the US, and this grant will make a big difference. Listen to what’s involved:
The West Virginia Statewide Broadband Infrastructure Project plans to bring high-speed Internet access to this vastly underserved region by expanding the state’s existing microwave public safety network and adding about 2,400 miles of fiber. The expanded statewide network expects to directly connect more than 1,000 anchor institutions, including public safety agencies, public libraries, schools, government offices, and other critical community facilities at speeds of up to 45 Mbps. As a result of this project, every K–12 school in the state will have a high-speed Internet connection. In addition, access to healthcare, distance learning opportunities, and broadband and video applications for emergency first responders will be greatly expanded. The project intends to spur affordable broadband service impacting more than 700,000 households, 110,000 businesses, and 1,500 anchor institutions, by allowing local Internet service providers to connect to the project’s open network.
Almost 500 schools, 200 libraries, a whole bunch of 911 answering centers, 200 telemedicine sites, and nearly 800 law enforcement offices/fire departments will benefit from this grant. That’s substantial and transformative for West Virginia.