Today, Secretary Vilsack announced over $190 million of investment in broadband projects through USDA's Community Connect program, the Public Television Digital Transition Grant, and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program.
Time and time again, we hear stories about the significant impact USDA’s investments have in the lives of hard working Americans, and we know that an investment in our rural communities is an investment in America.
At the terminus of the majestic Matanuska Glacier in Southcentral Alaska sits the tiny community of Glacier View. It's better than an hour's drive northwest of Palmer, the headquarters of the Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA). With a population of fewer than 250 residents, the unincorporated community hosts a lodge, a gas station, and tourism-related businesses that provide visitors access to the massive glacier just south of the community. Not far down the road you'll find Glacier View School, a K-12 public school that serves children in the area.
Chickaloon is a half an hour down the road, and is home to tourism businesses, artisans manufacturing by hand uniquely Alaskan crafts, lodging and food, as well as the home of the Athabascan Nation Chickaloon Village.
With the investment of a USDA Community Connect grant, MTA is adding Glacier View, Chickaloon, and others to the growing list of communities with access to high speed broadband.
Matanuska Telephone Association was founded as a cooperative over 60 years ago, and has a service area covering over 10,000 square miles – larger than the entire state of Vermont. With a USDA Community Connect investment, and local investment from MTA, students, families, manufacturers, small businesses, and Native communities will have access to upwards of 10 Mbps upload and download speeds – that allows these very rural communities to connect and compete globally.
Additionally, with the Community Connect grant, the folks that live along the Glenn Highway between Chickaloon and Glacier View will also have access to a brand new Community Connect Center providing free broadband access for the next two years.
The Community Connect grant creates an opportunity for USDA to partner with our cooperatives and other public and private sector entities to provide rural residents access to advancing technology, to help educate students, and to give rural crafters and manufacturers access to a global customer base.
As Secretary Vilsack said in today’s announcement, “Modern telecommunications and broadband access is as essential to the businesses and residents of Rural America as electricity was in the 1930s.”
Investing in rural America adds to the economic viability of rural communities, which strengthens the nation’s economy and helps all of America to thrive. In the words of President Obama, “Strong rural communities are key to a stronger America.”
For more on how USDA investments are helping build a stronger rural America in your area, check your state fact sheet: usda.gov/opportunity.
