States Organize to Facilitate and Fund Local Broadband Efforts

Over the past decade, a range of states have developed and executed strategies to methodically chip away at rural broadband challenges. These states have formed broadband task forces; they have brought stakeholders together to gauge needs; they have stood up state broadband offices to put sophisticated strategies into action; and they have provided information and resources to localities, community anchors, and the public. Some states have gone one step further: They have invested substantial public dollars, through grant programs, to fund broadband deployments in areas that lack adequate service. By providing state funding to match private investment and federal grants, these states have enabled deployment in areas that cannot attract sufficient private investment. Through financial incentives and accurate data, states such as Minnesota, Maryland, and Alabama have incented the private sector to collaborate with local communities in addressing broadband deficits.

[Putting State Broadband Funds to Work: Best Practices In State Rural Broadband Grant Programs is available now from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.]