Laura Bond, Reporter
04-14-2009
Communities with access to broadband Internet are in a position to thrive, whereas those without are at a disadvantage. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, brought this message to local residents at the Lincoln Parish Library on Monday in the first of several planned outreach meetings throughout the state. The meetings are a way to encourage communities to quickly pursue strategies to get a cut of the billions in federal money for broadband initiatives that will become available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“This is something the state needs to get a grip on as soon as possible to get a competitive interest with others,” Landrieu said. “We want cities and parishes to come together to make sure as many people are connected as possible.”
Approximately $3 billion in federal grant money will be funneled into the Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture and toward the creation of a national broadband map, according to a representative from Landrieu’s office.
A crowd of onlookers that included Ruston Mayor Dan Hollingsworth and representatives from Louisiana Tech University, CenturyTel and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People filled the library Monday to listen to Landrieu participate in a roundtable discussion on broadband access with Lincoln Parish Police Jury President Skip Russell, City Economic Development Administrator Stuart Clason, United States Department of Agriculture representative William Vogt and Louisiana Public Service Commission representative Bill Robertson.
“I’m here to find out how we might provide broadband Internet to people out in the country,” Russell said. “There are several areas in the parish that cannot get broadband Internet, and I’ve received several calls from residents who haven’t had any luck getting it.”
Discussions circulated the table about areas that are in need of broadband access, the importance of Internet access in every school and Internet affordability.
Landrieu, who said she would write Gov. Bobby Jindal and state legislators encouraging them to take advantage of the stimulus money, said the presence of strong infrastructure and communications are vital in economic development.
“Part of this is there are such exciting opportunities available for entrepreneurs today,” said Landrieu, who chairs the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and serves on the Appropriations Committee. “Technology is enabling people to build huge businesses in rural areas.”
According to a Congressional Research Service report, the stimulus funding and future Obama administration initiatives target strategies to reduce the “digital divide,” where studies suggest high-speed Internet is being deployed to urban and high-income areas at a faster rate than to rural and low-income areas. A recent study found the percentage of U.S. adults with broadband at home was 60 percent for suburban areas, 57 percent for urban areas and 38 percent for rural areas.
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For questions or comments, visit Sen. Mary Landrieu’s Web site at http://landrieu.senate.gov.
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