Utah receives over $15M in federal funds for improving internet access

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SALT LAKE CITY — There are at the moment 70,000 households in Utah with restricted or no web entry, in accordance with the 2021 American Communities Survey, however the state has simply acquired over $15 million in federal funding for 2 tasks that may assist change that.

The primary is Connecting Utah, launched Nov. 29 by means of the Utah Broadband Middle, an initiative of the Utah Governor’s Workplace of Financial Alternative. Connecting Utah will develop a five-year motion plan to increase entry to inexpensive high-speed web in unconnected and underserved areas of the state, in accordance with a information launch.

Rebecca Dilg, director of the Utah Broadband Middle, mentioned the venture acquired $5 million from the federal Broadband Fairness Entry and Deployment Program, a $42.45 billion program that helps increase high-speed web entry and use. This system is overseen by the U.S. Division of Commerce and the Nationwide Telecommunications and Info Administration.

Further funds for Connecting Utah got here from the Digital Fairness Act, which allotted $2.75 billion to 3 federal grant applications, additionally overseen by the NTIA. Dilg mentioned the amount of cash acquired from the Digital Fairness Act is “not a simple, rounded quantity.”

The second venture will increase broadband infrastructure in rural areas of the state, connecting an estimated 3,080 households and companies, in accordance with a information launch. The Utah Broadband Middle introduced Wednesday that it is going to be receiving $10 million to fund this work by means of the Coronavirus Capital Tasks Fund as a part of the American Rescue Plan.

The Utah Broadband Middle has already awarded 5 rural recipients:

• Field Elder County
• Croydon, Morgan County
• Millard County
• West Mountain, Utah County
• Montezuma Creek, San Juan County

The CFP is a $10 billion program funding tasks that allow work, training and well being monitoring in response to the pandemic, in accordance with the information launch. Utah is amongst 5 different states awarded CPF funds.

Connecting Utah

Dilg mentioned her workplace heard concerning the broadcast equality program funding a yr in the past. Following this yr’s Aug. 15 deadline, it acquired the funding by November. Utah is one in every of 14 states and territories which have at the moment been awarded the funds, she added.

The cash is now going towards Connecting Utah’s five-year plan, step one of which includes figuring out areas most in want of web entry. Dilg mentioned the state has had web availability maps for over a decade primarily based on data from web suppliers, however now they’re hoping group members will go to speedtest.utah.gov to run web velocity assessments at their varied addresses.

“This provides us one other layer of data,” Dilg mentioned. “Are these areas truly served? Are they represented?”

She additionally emphasised the outreach work her workplace is doing, together with workshops, an internet site and social media campaigns, aided by native session agency Horrocks.

The five-year plan additionally contains implementing web service in underrepresented areas, Dilg mentioned. They’re going to present grants and “have companions on this enterprise.” Their first precedence is to get each family related, she mentioned; then they’re going to give attention to bettering velocity.

Dilg mentioned particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all the things is finished on-line, from telehealth appointments to driver’s license renewals to working remotely. Her workforce worries about “digital immigrants” — older generations that did not develop up utilizing expertise — and even younger individuals who do not essentially have all the talents they should navigate a digital world.

“We envision a digitally related Utah the place all are capable of totally take part in fashionable society,” Dilg mentioned.

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