Legal Ruralism: Coming soon: more broadband for rural America

Vice President Joe Biden was just in Dawsonville, GA, a small rural town (pop. 619), to announce eighteen projects that will receive $183 million in federal funding (collectively) to bring high speed Internet service to rural places. Biden spoke at Impulse Manufacturing, a metalworks plant in north Georgia whose business has been stunted by the lack of a broadband network in that part of the state.

The government recently set aside $7.4 billion dollars in stimulus funding for rural broadband service, as Internet service providers overlook many poor neighborhoods, rural areas, and Native American communities. Federal programs plan to distribute about $2 billion over the next couple of months, while the balance of the $7.4 billion has been spent on mapping projects or will be distributed in a final round of grants...