London, KY, USA / SAM 103.9 FM WWEL | Today s Pop Hits
May 10, 2021 | 11:47 AM
Through a collaborative effort with SOAR, Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative designated the City of Manchester as a “Smart Rural Community” giving the area an opportunity to lead the way in terms of broadband services. Officials say they have been expanding into Manchester for the past five years, seeing a need in the area for better broadband. CEO Keith Gabbard says this brings an endless number of opportunities. This gives organizations like Teleworks USA the opportunity to bring in more remote jobs to the area. Gabbard says it is a service that was needed well before the COVID-19 pandemic. PRTC hopes to expand to several counties in Eastern Kentucky, Clay County being one of the first. Gabbard says the overall goal is to provide their broadband services into as much of Kentucky as they can.
A child attends an online class at a learning hub inside the Crenshaw Family YMCA during the pandemic in February in Los Angeles, California. The learning hub program provides structured distance education resources including free WiFi, electricity, staff support, academic tutoring, and recreation activities to provide a safe environment to support low income and minority communities. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
The internet is essential for modern life. Yet millions of Americans who live rural areas don t have access to it. Does the Biden administration s infrastructure plan have what will it take to get broadband to the hardest to reach places?