JAN. 25, 2010 • The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) announced funding of $310 million to bring broadband connections to 14 rural communities. The money was part of last year’s Recovery Act, and is part of the $7.2 billion that Congress set aside for high-speed network adoption. In addition to the above projects, the USDA  has already disbursed $363.7 million for 22 broadband projects nationwide out of the $2.5 billion stimulus available. The other $4.7 billion is controlled by the Department of Commerce, which has funded 15 projects in the amount of $200 million. Combined, both agencies have received 2,200 applications requesting a total of $28 billion. While the USDA is focusing more on last-mile connections to users, the Commerce Department is looking to fund middle-mile connections to institutions like universities, libraries, and other public facilities.

Impact: The last decade has seen the U.S. fall behind other developed nations in the penetration of reliable high-speed Internet access. Unlike many other countries, neither Federal or State governments have invested much in broadband infrastructure. So now, with this money available, it is no wonder that the response to the Federal stimulus allocations has been so widespread.  Furthermore it appears the applications are mostly meritorious. It’s encouraging to see robust high-speed net access penetration becoming a national priority. Unfortunately, the crush of applications has been so great that the process of picking and choosing which to fund has slowed the process down to a crawl. Although it might take another year to sort out, the net effect of this online infrastructure investment can only buoy the growth in online game playing and digital distribution.