by: Shane McGlaun
IBM wants a slice of the $2.5B pie Obama set aside for rural broadband access
Part of the new stimulus bill that was signed into law recently by President Obama included provisions to offer money to support the roll out of faster internet connections to consumers in rural areas. In many parts of the country, rural areas only have slow dial-up connections that make it very difficult to access information online and shop.
IBM has announced that it plans to seek a portion of the $2.5 billion set aside to stimulate broadband rollouts for rural America. IBM and International Broadband Electric Communications (IBEC) have a joint venture that provides broadband connectivity over existing power lines.
The service is available in rural Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, and Virginia right now. IBM's CEO Sam Palmisano met with President Obama last month and the CEO of IBEC is set to meet with lawmakers in Washington today to see how much of the funds available could be used for its rural broadband service.
Consumers who subscribe to the IBM/IBEC service get access to the internet by plugging a modem into their power outlet. The technology used for the service uses radio signals to help connect users to the internet. This type of internet connectivity is widely seen as slower and less reliable than traditional internet service, but IBM points out that in the rural areas the service is meant for the only competition is dial-up, which is slower than the power line-based web access.
IBM doesn't know how much, if any, of the funds that are available its venture can receive from the government. IBM does say that the roll out of the service will continue with or without government assistance.
IBM's Raymond Blair said in a statement, "In the long-term, the effort will lead to the expansion of small businesses and creation of new industries, bringing new jobs to rural Americans and driving net new economic growth."
=======================================================================================================
=======================================================================================================
This could be great news for a lot of people.
If/when it becomes more available.
CoFree
