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If you’re tired of slow broadband internet speeds in some parts of rural Nebraska, help is on the way. Governor Pete Ricketts signed legislation Wednesday that will spend $40 million over two years to help improve rural broadband across the state.
Robust broadband isn’t all that uncommon in bigger cities, but in some rural areas, it can be hard to find. LB 388, which got unanimous support from Nebraska lawmakers, provides matching grants of $20 million annually to entice developers to invest in faster broadband, with upload and download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second. At a bill signing ceremony at the State Capitol Wednesday, Governor Ricketts said the improved infrastructure is about the state’s future.
“We can only be a healthy state if we’re growing our entire state,” Ricketts said. “While many parts of urban Nebraska have high-speed internet access, we’ve got to be able to connect all parts of Nebraska. This bill will help us do that,” he said.
Senator Curt Friesen, the chair of the Legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications committee, introduced the bill on behalf of Governor Ricketts and said faster broadband could open doors for people who would like to move here.
“I think the opportunity for economic development and for people who might want to move back to this state and get jobs here and be able to maintain that same job they had on either coast and wherever they might be and stay employed there,” Freisen said. “The opportunity for work at home now has really increased and I think this is a tremendous opportunity for Nebraska to attract people back.”
LB 388 is expected to bring faster broadband service to about 30,000 rural Nebraska homes. Last year, the state used almost $30 million in CARES Act funding to begin the process of improving broadband service across the state.