TULSA — The Oklahoma Broadband Office has helped put together programs totaling more than a half billion dollars to bring high speed Internet access to rural areas of Oklahoma, with more planned for the near future.
The projects thus far have largely been funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and contributions from Internet service providers.
The latest programs totaled more than $158 million, plus another $109 million provided by Internet service providers, and will help roughly 28,000 homes and businesses connect to the Internet.
According to a statement emailed to KRMG Friday, "This is the second tranche of broadband grant funding approved by the board this year. Total awards from ARPA CPF and ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds now top $500 million and will result in high-speed internet access to more than 66,000 locations in 57 of the state’s 77 counties.”
It goes on to say that "OBO Executive Director Mike Sanders said the hard work administering the two ARPA grant programs is paying off and data show it will provide service to almost 40 percent of the unserved and underserved homes and businesses in the state.”
KRMG recently spoke with Sanders, who told us high-speed Internet used to be a luxury, now it’s a way of life. And our commitment is to take care of those unserved and underserved Oklahomans, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
He said next on the agenda is the deployment of roughly $750 million from another federal project called Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, or BEAD.
Broadband is vital for communities, Sanders told KRMG, “not only to enhance their healthcare system with telehealth, telemedicine, but also looking at it from an education standpoint, and more importantly, especially in rural areas, is to have this as an economic development tool.”