This evening I e-mailed the county administrator and my local representative about some federal grant money. This money is to bring broadband Internet to under-served, rural area. Here is what the National Assocaition of REALTORS® posted today:
On February 13, Congress passed an economic stimulus package with $7.2 billion devoted to funding for broadband deployment. The bill creates a new Broadband Technology Opportunities Program administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The program will be given $4.7 billion to fund the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of the country. An additional $2.5 billion in broadband loans and grants will be administered by the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS). Any entity is eligible to apply for a grant including municipalities, public/private partnerships and private companies as long as they comply with the grant conditions. The grants are subject to “openness” requirements to ensure that broadband networks be free of restrictions on content, sites, or platforms, on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and on the modes of communication allowed.
The bill also charges the FCC is with developing a national broadband plan that shall seek to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability and shall establish benchmarks for meeting that goal.
These provisions are important victories for REALTORS because increased broadband access promotes economic growth and expands opportunities for home sales. A 2006 Commerce Department report determined that property values are 6% higher in communities where broadband is available.
I understand that the county has some significant financial issues and the Caroline Progress reported today that 20 School Teachers have been terminated, now more than ever it’s important to have services in place to supplement education for students. A number of citizens have voiced their concerns about the lack of Internet in Caroline County. You read the post and the 70+ comments here, on our previous Caroline Blog.
Counties derive a great deal of their income from property taxes and real property transfers. The lack of appeal for Caroline is the Internet access,or lack thereof. Sellers actually do contact agents wanting to sell due to lack of high-speed and buyers quickly rule out the area when they can’t obtain the Internet speed that has become even more essential than a home telephone line, for many people. Please join us in letting our leaders know how important pursuing high speed Internet is for our area.
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,..] carolinevablog.com is one another nice source on this subject,..]
Hi gang: I just posted an update from Caroline’s Economic Director on Internet access in Caroline: http://www.carolinevablog.com/caroline-county/high-speed-internet-in-caroline-county-an-update-from-the-county/