A federal initiative involving billions of dollars for expansion of broadband services to unserved and underserved areas will bring million of those dollars to Michigan. Government leaders expect the broadband access to drive new business formation and to spur children's academic growth.
According to excerpts from the story:
Internet service providers, for-profit and nonprofit organizations and municipalities could benefit from three rounds of funding that will come into Michigan for a broadband initiative to expand the scope of services to the unserved and underserved parts of the state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Commerce are expected to come up with requirements and criteria for the funds that are part of the stimulus monies, according to George Boersma, director of technology partnerships in the Department of Information Technology for the state of Michigan. "The problem is we have parts of the state that do not have adequate broadband and households and businesses are still on dialup," Boersma told MiBiz. It's mostly rural areas without high-speed service, although even in Oakland County there are some that are without service.
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