Officials from the state’s Department of Technology and Information joined lawmakers and Governor Jack Markell (D-Delaware) Tuesday to celebrate the completion of a new fiber cable bringing broadband Internet to Sussex County.
The ceremony at La Red Health Center in Georgetown, which will be able to use new telemedicine practices with broadband, also unveiled the next steps to bring faster internet to Sussex.
The First State is offering a $2 million grant to one or two private companies that offer the best plans to use a new fiber cable running from Middletown to Georgetown to expand broadband service to underserved Delawareans. The grant will be funded by the Delaware Broadband Fund, which was established to increase access to high speed Internet in rural Delaware.
Markell touted broadband Internet as an economic engine.
"When you look at what economic opportunity requires these days, one of them is connection the the Internet, and the higher speed the better," said Markell. "So we think this is a real opportunity for Delaware and particularly the rural parts of our state.
He added its also crucial to providing educational oportunities.
"We’d like to see more places like schools, libraries, healthcare facilities and the like gain access to higher broadband connections, [but] it’s obviously really important from an education perspective," said Markell.
Delaware consistently ranks in the top five states in terms of providing broadband Internet.