35 States to Get Better Fiber Internet Access With $930M in Federal Grants
To boost access to high-speed internet, the Biden administration has announced(Opens in a new window) $930 million in funding to install fiber internet links in 35 US states and Puerto Rico.
The funding comes from the Commerce Department’s Middle Mile Program, which is focused(Opens in a new window) on filling in the gaps in the US's internet infrastructure.
The program isn’t designed to bring fiber directly to consumers. Instead, it’s about laying the fiber infrastructure necessary to supply high-speed internet to an area. Local internet service providers can connect their services to the fiber infrastructure, giving them a more affordable way to offer fiber to their customers.
It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to lay one mile of fiber optic cable. As a result, many local ISPs often avoid bringing high-speed internet to sparsely populated areas, even though consumers there desperately need better broadband.
The Commerce Department is offering $930 million in grants to various companies and state agencies that want to build the necessary fiber infrastructure in 350 counties across the US. The funding can be used for “construction, improvement, or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure, along with administrative costs associated with running the program," the agency says.
“The projects will deploy over 12,000 miles of new fiber that will pass within 1,000 feet of 6,961 community anchor institutions,” the department adds. “Grants span from $2.7 million to $88.8 million, with an average award amount of $26.6 million.”
Recipients(Opens in a new window) of the funding include the California Department of Technology and Kansas Department of Commerce, which each want to install around 680 miles worth of fiber.
Read more on pcmag.com
