The Obama Administration today announced that they've picked new stimulus winners, and are doling out roughly $795 million in grants and loans to help expand broadband service across the country. You can see a full list of the funding awards here (pdf), many of which fill in fiber 'middle mile' gaps in various rural communities. According to the Obama Administration, the investment will create 5,000 construction and installation jobs, and $200 million in associated private investment. Says the White House release:
In total, tens of millions of Americans and over 685,000 businesses, 900 healthcare facilities and 2,400 schools in all fifty states stand to benefit from the awards. The $795 million in grants and loans through the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture have been matched by over $200 million in outside investment, for a total public-private investment of more than $1 billion in bringing broadband service to these communities, most of which currently have little or no access, to help them better compete and do business in the global marketplace.
At the same time the White House was lauding broadband investment, House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) was busy proposing an amendment to the Afghanistan and Iraq war supplemental that would trim broadband investment by roughly $602 million to offset war costs. According to a statement (pdf) by Obey, broadband's one of several stimulus investments 'that no longer require the funding' or 'have sufficient funds on hand.'Groups like Media Access Project quickly complained that redirecting those funds was a mistake. 'The $602 million to be reallocated represents a negligible portion of U.S. war spending,' argues the group. 'But these funds would cover the cost of a large number of broadband infrastructure and adoption projects spanning multiple states, to benefit thousands of people living and working without adequate access to the Internet.'
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