More Rural Broadband Money Released
Friday-Governor Ron DeSantis announced that another $60 million in funding to spread broadband across rural parts of the state would be given to certain counties in need. This money will support 22 projects in 19 different rural counties. Locally speaking, it will have a huge impact on the most northern areas of Santa Rosa County.
“Going back to the February press conference at the Imogene Theatre in Milton where our governor made the first announcement about the rural broadband initiative, he has stayed true to his word,” stated Rhett Rowell, who announced in April that he would be running for District 3 County Commissioner for Santa Rosa County and spoke at the press conference in Milton about the importance of rural broadband in north Santa Rosa County.
“This is the third round of funds from the governor’s office to rural areas across the state. In Santa Rosa County we have Kyle Holley, who is heading up our Local Technology Planning Team. He is leading the way, working as a conduit between the governor’s office, the county departments and the companies that are bidding on doing this work. Thanks to his leadership, our county is miles in front of other counties in regards to having a plan on getting residents in rural areas connected as quickly as possible,” Rowell continued.
In regards to this round of money, Santa Rosa County will receive over $2.6 million.
The news release states;
“Towns of Jay and Pine Level; Unincorporated Communities of Berrydale, Brownsdale, Dixonville, Mount Carmel, Munson, Springhill, Walnut Hill and Whitfield ($2,615,434.62) — to add 1,015 miles of fiber optic cable to provide 1,193 unserved locations within Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties with symmetrical download and upload speeds of 1 GB.” (https://www.flgov.com/2023/05/26/governor-ron-desantis-awards-60-million-to-22-projects-through-the-broadband-opportunity-program/)
Below are links to former articles related to this news release.
http://www.northsantarosa.com/2023/02/03/desantis-in-milton/
Santa Rosa Local Technology Planning Team Holds Meeting
