Agriculture Department announces more broadband grants

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Wednesday his department was providing $1.2 billion to help fund 126 projects nationwide aimed at promoting broadband access and adoption, while also spurring economic development and job creation.

This is the second round of broadband projects the Agriculture Department has announced and funded by the $7.2 billion in stimulus money for broadband access and adoption included in the 2009 economic stimulus package. The broadband stimulus funding was split between Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

These projects, "will give rural Americans access to the tools they need to attract new businesses, jobs, health care and educational opportunities," Vilsack said. "Bringing broadband to rural America provides a gateway for businesses and key anchor institutions such as libraries, schools, public safety and community centers."

Thirty-eight states and Native American tribal areas will benefit from the new projects. The full list of recipients, many of them regional telephone companies, can be found here. The funds will help support the construction of fiber-optic cable and fixed wireless service to expand high-speed Internet access.