USDA Rural Utilities Service Administrator Brandon McBride announced that nearly six million Americans who live and work in rural areas now have access to new or improved high-speed internet service, thanks to USDA funding provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In Falls City, NE, Southeast Nebraska Communications Inc. utilized $11,270,602 through the Recovery Act, serving 1,215 households and benefiting 73 businesses. Twenty-two community anchor locations were made possible. This project will help drive economic development and create jobs for decades to come.
Broadband service is available to nearly all Nebraskans, with 99.5% of Nebraskans having access to service with download speeds of greater than 10 Mbps, according to the Broadband in Nebraska Current Landscape and Recommendations publication http://nitc.ne.gov/documents/2014reports/broadbandplan.pdf. The deployment of fiber in Nebraska is increasing. Businesses, residents, ag producers, schools, and health facilities are impacted by the use of broadband.
For more information or questions on broadband in Nebraska, contact General Field Representative Roger Meeks at 402-420-1467 or roger.meeks@wdc.usda.gov.
Two hundred fifty-four Recovery Act broadband projects financed by USDA's Rural Utilities Service, totaling $2.9 billion, are providing broadband service in 44 states and American Samoa. More than half the infrastructure projects were completed under budget, resulting in the return of nearly $113 million to the U.S. Treasury. The measure's five-year period for funding broadband projects expired at the end of the 2015 fiscal year.
These projects have brought high-speed Internet access to 260,000 rural households, 17,500 businesses and 1,900 community facilities. The service providers estimate that completed projects could provide access for more than 5.8 million rural consumers.
While Congress instructed USDA to improve rural broadband access as part of a sweeping set of infrastructure investments funded through the Recovery Act, USDA is financing additional expansions to rural broadband service through other annual funding.
President Obama's plan for rural America has brought about historic investment and resulted in stronger rural communities. Under the President's leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America's economy, small towns and rural communities.