AL: Programs incentivize rural broadband expansion [telecom]

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With broadband internet increasingly becoming a "need to have" rather than a "nice to have," state and federal governments are providing grants to incentivize the expansion of broadband service into rural areas.

When Alabama set up its Broadband Accessibility Fund several years ago, there were only a handful of applicants for the grant money. When Jay Fuller, CEO and owner of Cyber Broadband went looking for grants to help with a broadband project his company was going to do at Smith Lake, he discovered the grants and successfully applied for one. At the time, his company was one of nine applicants. This past year, his company again applied for a grant from the state and was one of 55 applications.