RURAL BROADBAND - There’s going to be a special meeting taking place in Natchitoches, Louisiana later this morning, the subject of which is how to close the digital divide in Louisiana. There will be a number of stakeholders participating to explore how to increase digital broadband access in the Natchitoches region and other areas. Veneeth Iyenger is Executive Director for Connect-LA, the state office of Broadband and Connectivity for Louisiana and explains the key points the meeting will address.
"When we start to think about the digital divide, we think about three issues: broadband access, broadband affordability, and broadband literacy," Iyenger explained. "Addressing each of these three has to be done at the same time in order for us to eliminate the digital-divide that we have in Louisiana by 2029."
"When we start to think about the digital divide, we think about three issues: broadband access, broadband affordability, and broadband literacy," Veneeth Iyenger, Executive Director for Connect-LA, State Office of Broadband and Connectivity for Louisiana
Iyenger says that while Louisiana has a good head start as it’s currently ranked 18th in the nation for broadband, it’s the rural populations that are unserved. The state has established a $180 million grant program called GUMBO which stands for Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities and will also receive around $340 million in federal funding for rural broadband development. Iyenger says the this funding should incentivize private companies to develop broadband in unserved areas that they normally would not go.
The meeting will be held at the Natchitoches City Council Chambers at 716 Second Street beginning today at 11:30AM. This event was put together by State Senator Louie Bernard of District 31. The Connect-LA / Office of Broadband was created through an executive order by Governor John Bel Edwards in 2019 and its goal is to provide affordable digital broadband access to everyone in Louisiana by 2029.
