WASHINGTON, January 26, 2010 – The Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities Service is doling out $310 million in broadband stimulus funds, department Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Monday.

The monies will be spread throughout 14 projects seeking to bring speedy Internet connections to rural communities in the United States in an effort to lift and grow their economies.

“The awards for these broadband projects will support anchor institutions – such as libraries, public buildings and community centers – that are necessary for the viability of rural communities,” Vilsack said.

WASHINGTON, November 30, 2009 – The U.S. government announced Monday that it has awarded millions of dollars to five state entities and one nonprofit organization – Connected Nation – that proposed projects to help collect better data on broadband availability across the country.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the government agency responsible for taking the lead on broadband data as part of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program, announced funding for broadband mapping and planning activities in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, and Missouri.

October 16, 2009 – The states of Alabama, Arizona and Missouri released their lists of recommendations for broadband stimulus grants to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Friday, October 16, and they each took very different approaches to the selection process.

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2009 – The role of states in the communications landscape were discussed in a Wednesday panel of state public utility commissioners at the Cable Show here.