The Oklahoma Broadband Authority announced significant improvements to ensure rural Oklahomans have the means and ability to access high-speed internet.
While Oklahoma’s developed areas have easy access to high-speed internet, access to broadband can be limited in rural areas.
Mike Sanders, the agency’s executive director, said the agency is using $374 million in funding across Oklahoma’s 55 counties to improve services to Oklahomans.
Welcome back. For many of us, having access to high-speed internet is something we take for granted. Maybe we even take it for granted. But for many Oklahomans living in rural areas of the state, that won’t be a reality in 2024, but things are changing. I’m joined this morning by Mike Sanders, executive director of the state’s Broadband Authority, Mike, and you’re all announcing a major development in making the stories of all Oklahomans more accessible. Please tell us about it.
We did Lacey. About four weeks ago, the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Governor’s Commission announced that $374 million would be distributed to 57 of 77 counties, which is truly an incredible feat. 31 internet service providers offer service. Most of her 110,000-plus Oklahomans in rural Oklahoma have never had high-speed internet before, but this is a historic, historic day for Oklahoma.
That’s very important and the right thing to do for safety reasons.public
Safety, education, economic development, this is a great tool. Moving to and closing the digital divide will be a game changer. So, just as important as the electrification policy was in the ’30s, was highways, freeways, the Internet, or excuse me, the infrastructure of the ’50s, the freeway system. This is our moment today.And we’re excited about where we are
we. This is just phase one. Please tell us about your future plans. this is. . .was
our first phase. This was ARPA state and local fiscal recovery funding that Congress appropriated for us. In the next couple of months, we will be launching what we call a capital fund project. This includes an additional approximately $159 million for high-speed internet infrastructure. And the biggest one is what we call beats. An additional $797.4 million will go toward high-speed internet. In the case of Oklahoma,
By the time this is all done, it will cost more than $1 billion. So we can draw your attention to the importance of this here. absolutely. How long is it just to put things down and where will this be active for people in rural Oklahoma?
Well, we just released the first phase of funding a few weeks ago, but they need to not only build it, but operationalize it within two years. So all of these federal grant programs are on schedule. So this office will actually be gone in five years. Therefore, we need to not only announce funds allocated to programs, but also get these projects up and running.Now you have a very small window
Or for very large projects.What the new coronavirus has taught you broadly
Oh, Lacey, if the coronavirus has taught us anything, we can run a billion dollar business from the comfort of our couches. But the important thing is that we have to stay connected. That’s right, we have to connect. Isn’t that true?thank you
