1.D.1: Broadband
Expand access to broadband. Other Information:
The Recovery Act provides $7.2 billion for broadband expansion and the 2010 budget includes $1.3 billion in USDA loans and
grants to increase broadband capacity and telecommunication service. This support is a kickstart towards ensuring that all
Americans have affordable 21st century access to the Internet. Widespread high-speed Internet access is essential for economic
growth, job creation, and global competitiveness, and will foster the next generation of innovators while enabling reductions
in energy consumption through telework, making online distance education tools accessible to all, enhancing remote medical
monitoring capabilities, facilitating civic engagement, and supporting enhanced communications networks for first responders.
Increased broadband access is a key input for rural economic development. It will enable rural businesses to improve their
efficiency and expand their market reach; enable rural populations to compete remotely for a wide range of service jobs; and
allow rural communities to retain their populations while attracting new businesses. The farm sector, a pioneer in rural Internet
use, is increasingly comprised of farm businesses that purchase inputs and make sales online. Only 46 percent of adults in
rural households have broadband access, compared to 67 percent for non-rural adults. America should lead the world in broadband
adoption and Internet access, and we should not leave rural populations behind.
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