Kentucky a model for broadband expansion

Chicago Tribune
By Rebecca Cole
WASHINGTON — In Martin County, Ky., a remote corner of Appalachia, it can take hours to reach a doctor's office, a simple cholesterol check costing a miner a day's work. Link to Article

Internet access hinders rural development

The Hutchinson News
By Amy Bickel
An FM radio receiver brings the World Wide Web to Jeff Grossenbacher's rural Nemaha County farm. Link to Article

Why Spend $350 Million to Map Broadband?

New York Times
By Saul Hansell
Deep inside the stimulus bill that passed the Senate Tuesday is an allocation of up to $350 million for making a “nationwide inventory map of existing broadband service capability and availability in the United States.” This map, members of Congress say, will be helpful in making sure that the $7 billion in proposed grants to bring high speed Internet service to rural areas are handed out where they are most needed. Link to article

Groups Push for Broadband Stimulus

PC World
Grant Gross
The U.S. Congress should keep money for broadband deployment in a huge economic stimulus package, despite some calls to trim it out of the bill, representatives of three groups said Friday. Link to Article

Federal Broadband Push Poses Major Opportunities for Libraries; ALA Says Local Efforts Still Needed

Source: Library Journal
By: Norman Oder
So would the pending push for $9 billion in broadband assistance help libraries? Absolutely. Not only would the buildout offer connection speeds libraries desire, but the Senate bill includes at least $200 million in “competitive grants for expanding public computer center capacity, including at community colleges and public libraries.” Link to Article

Broadband Build-Out: Who Will Run the Show?

Source: Business Week
By: Arik Hesseldahl
Add broadband to the list of controversial provisions of the $900 billion economic stimulus package being debated in Congress. Included in the legislation are plans to spend $8.2 billion on fast Internet connections around the country, but a political row is shaping up over how that money will be spent and by which agency. Link to Article