Are you concerned about better broadband internet service for either where you live or those you do business with? If so, your presence is requested at Danville Area Community College’s Vermilion Hall, Room 306, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM this Thursday. DACC is hosting one of 50 stops on the Illinois Broadband Lab tour. This effort, from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Illinois Office of Broadband, is designed to find out what is needed and where. As Illinois Office of Broadband Director Matt Schmit explains, they intend to have have finalized plans within the next decade to get service OUT THERE to those that don’t have it yet.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: So we’ve forged this Illinois Broadband Lab collaboration with the University of Illinois system. And so we’re partnering with hubs and campuses across the state, in each one of our ten economic development regions. And this listening tour is just the latest manifestation of that commitment to our communities. We want to get out, we want to hear from folks; where they live, go to them; and incorporate feedback accordingly.
Schmit says the funding is there are there from major sources; the Connect Illinois Broadband Grant Program, the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program, and historic federal funding; such as from the bipartisan infrastructure law, that is providing $1.5 billion dollars or more for Illinois to fill in the gaps and get access to broadband internet to all.
