Jason Morisseau, an installation and maintenance technician for Waitsfield and Champlain Valley Telecom, uses a unified connector to install fiber optic cables being run to a home, in Concord, Vt., February 10, 2022. The Department of Agriculture will announce on Thursday, $759 million in grants and loans to enable rural communities to access high-speed Internet. It’s part of a broader $65 billion push for high-speed connectivity from last year’s infrastructure law. Source: AP Photo / Wilson Ring, File
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing $759 million in grants and loans to enable rural communities to access high-speed internet, part of a $65 billion boost in high-speed connectivity from basic legislation. infrastructure last year.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and senior White House adviser Mitch Landrieu will announce the grants in North Carolina on Thursday.
There are 49 recipients in 24 states. One is North Carolina’s AccessOn Networks, which will receive $17.5 million to provide broadband service to 100 businesses, 76 farms and 22 educational institutions in the state’s Halifax and Warren counties. Both counties are rural and have a predominantly Black population.
The announcement and visit to North Carolina, a state with open U.S. Senate seats, comes as President Joe Biden and other top Democratic officials are trying to sell their gains to voters. before the midterm elections on November 8. Landrieu, infrastructure coordinator and former mayor of New Orleans, told reporters on a call Wednesday that the Biden administration has released $180 billion for various infrastructure projects.
The administration is specifically targeting support for small town and farming communities, which generally favor Republicans over Democrats.
“Rural communities are the backbone of our nation, but they have been left behind for too long and are not widely recognized,” says Landrieu. “We all know how essential the Internet is to access life-saving telemedicine, capitalize on economic opportunity, connect with loved ones, work in precision agriculture and more. It’s unacceptable that rural America doesn’t have it.”
Vilsack said he and Landrieu will “learn first-hand” from people in North Carolina about the opportunities that internet access can create. They plan to meet with state and local officials including North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper at Wake Technical Community College, where they will announce the grants. They will also organize town hall in Elm City.
Both candidates in the race for the US Senate in North Carolina – Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican Ted Budd – are expected to appear at the events.
Vilsack says past trips show how broadband connectivity is starting to make a difference. While in Nevada this summer, he heard from people in the town of Lovelock, who plan to use the improved internet to enhance emergency services and travel opportunities as well. help high school students who are earning college credit online.
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