Pend Oreille County receives $27 million for broadband boost

Pend Oreille County, Washington recently received more than $27 million from the stimulus funds generated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to improve broadband speed and access in the Northeast corner of the state. The largely rural segment of the state has only eight people per square mile, according to the United States Census Bureau.The improvements to Pend Oreille's broadband infrastructure will improve access throughout the county, and provide broadband to 3,200 of its 12,000 residents for the first time. Improving access to schools is another goal of the grant. In rural communities, the demand is not as high as it is in suburban and urban communities, but it is the policy of the Obama administration that all schools in the U.S. have reliable broadband access."This investment will connect Pend Oreille families and small business owners to the critical broadband services already available in cities and towns across the country," Senator Patty Murray said.Washington's state government received funding from the ARRA earlier this month, but the improvement efforts in more rural parts of the state require further funding and infrastructure development to bring adequate broadband speed to the entire population.