Wiring Rural Areas.(Internet access)(Brief Article)

Economic Opportunity Report, August, 2004

* Wiring Rural Areas: Some $18 million in broadband loans will help bring the Internet into rural areas of New Mexico, Oklahoma and New Hampshire, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week. The lion's share of the loans, $11.4 million, will go to a New Mexico firm to help purchase network and access equipment and help with outside plant instruction, while $3.72 million will go to a firm in New Hampshire for constructing broadband systems and deploying new fiber cable, and $2.88 million will be used for upgrades and construction in Oklahoma.

The loans are made under USDA Rural Development, an effort to increase economic opportunity and improve quality of life for people living in rural areas. See www.rurdev.usda.gov.