President Obama signed a presidential memorandum creating a Broadband Opportunity Council, co-chaired by the secretaries of agriculture and commerce, that will expand the availability of high-speed Internet access. At the same time, the administration announced that 98 percent of Americans have mobile access to fourth-generation (4G) broadband, compared to 25 percent in 2010. Jeff Zients, chairman of the National Economic Council, said access rates for landlines to 4G service were lower, particularly in rural areas. “The bottom line is, access to broadband is not a luxury, it is a necessity” for small businesses, Zients told reporters.
Also on Monday, the USDA announced $35 million in loans to three rural telecommunications companies in Arkansas, New Mexico and Iowa to improve or expand their fiber-optic networks. The largest loan, $25 million, went to Southwest Arkansas Telephone for a project that will convert the final portions of a copper-wire system to fiber-optic cable.