New Federal Funding Will Expand Broadband To Over 5,500 Households In Elko County
LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a $7.3 million grant to expand broadband in Elko County. This funding is part of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Program and will be used to support Elko County’s Spring Creek Area project, which will serve 5,568 households, 169 businesses, and 21 anchor institutions.
“Expanded access to broadband is critical for the success of communities across Nevada, particularly in rural areas of our state,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m pleased to announce that the federal government will be making an investment of more than $7 million to expand broadband in Elko County – helping connect thousands of households and over a hundred businesses via high-speed internet service. I will continue working to see that Nevada has the resources to improve broadband access.”
“More than 30 million Americans lack access to reliable broadband, and the problem is worse in our rural counties. In Nevada, 14% of households don’t have an internet subscription and over 120,000 Nevadans live in areas where there is zero broadband infrastructure. This is an incredible injustice, and today, the Biden-Harris Administration reaffirms our commitment to reversing it,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “These awards will help us close the digital divide in Nevada and across the country, and we will not stop our work until all Americans can access the internet and participate in our modern economy.”
Currently, 8.6 percent of Nevadans live in areas where there is reportedly no broadband infrastructure that provides even minimally acceptable speeds. And nearly three-quarters of Nevadans live in areas where there is only one such internet provider. 14 percent of Nevada households do not have an internet subscription.
Senator Rosen, a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, has been a fighter for expanding broadband access in Nevada. She helped write the broadband section of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in November 2021 and is delivering $65 billion in overall investment to make broadband available and affordable to Americans.
###
