WASHINGTON-The Bush administration approved a $4.4 million loan to construct a wireless broadband network on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Bay Broadband Communications plans to deploy 92 distribution sites serving 5,000 homes and more than 3,000 businesses in 14 communities in four counties.
Chuck Connor, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, made the announcement at the Indiana State Fair, where he also announced the first government loan to develop broadband over power lines.
“Technologies are rapidly changing, and USDA is helping rural America to meet the demands for building state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure to bring universal access to all rural households and businesses. These funds will improve the quality of life and allow rural communities to create new economic opportunities and jobs for the future,” said Connor.
The Maryland and BPL loans were part of a larger announcement totaling $34.6 million that included a fiber-to-the-home deployment in Michigan and a distance learning/telemedicine program in New Hampshire.
The Bush administration, which has set a goal of having universal broadband by 2007, has invested $3.4 billion in rural development funds to provide 1.3 million rural homes and businesses with access to high-speed broadband connections.
