Remarks by Deputy Assistant Secretary Simpson at the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition 2014 Annual Conference

Through our broadband investments, we have witnessed the demonstrated need that community institutions have for broadband. And we know anchor institution demand for broadband is only continuing to skyrocket as telemedicine applications, one-to-one classroom computing, and streaming video become more commonplace in hospitals, schools, and libraries.

To date, our broadband grants have connected more than 21,000 community anchor institutions, including about 8,000 K-12 schools, 1,400 higher education campuses, more than 1,300 libraries, and 2,400 medical and healthcare providers. We’ve also invested in 3,000 new or improved public computer centers and brought online more than 600,000 broadband-subscribing households.

But let’s look past these metrics. We are compiling case studies and gathering information about the impact of these broadband grant projects across the country. And we are sharing the results.

We already released three library-focused reports that highlight the incredible work libraries are doing with their broadband awards. Now, I’d like to share with you four new case studies focusing on the benefits flowing from broadband investments in Arkansas; the Central Valley of California; West Virginia; and Tallahassee, Florida.