Arkansas Gets Broadband Money

Connect Arkansas, a private, non-profit organization designed to link all the state’s inhabitants to the Internet, was awarded a grant of about $2.1 million during the last week of October.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration gave the grant, which is part of $7.2 billion in federal stimulus money intended to increase broadband access and adoption via improved data collection and planning. About $1.6 million of the grant is designated for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period, with another $500,000 set aside for broadband planning activities over a five-year period.

The NTIA received applications from all 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia, according to a press release. The first five grant winners were announced earlier in October, and the District of Columbia and New York were awarded grants at the same time as Arkansas.

C. Sam Walls, president of Connect Arkansas, wasn’t surprised Arkansas was near the top of the list, and gave much of the credit to Gov. Mike Beebe. Beebe signed the Connect Arkansas Broadband Act into law in 2007 in an effort to ensure the creation of a competitive broadband infrastructure aimed at improving the personal lives and economic prospects of Arkansans.

“We’ve been ahead of the curve, easily, and you’ll notice we were one of the first ones to get the money,” Walls said. “I think what we’ve been doing for the last couple of years is why that happened.”

Walls also talked about the potential economic impact of the program.

“According to reports, full broadband deployment in Arkansas may create as many as 8,200 new jobs and generate more than $2.6 billion annually in additional Gross State Product,” Walls told Arkansas Business.