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A leading educational institution is partnering with the Indiana Broadband Office to help the state ensure access for rural residents.
Purdue University has announced they will be taking a leading role in helping Indiana to roll out over $800 million in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding from the U.S. government.
The Purdue Broadband Team, a new collaborative effort between Purdue University two Indiana state offices, the Indiana Broadband Office and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, will help ensure all Indiana families and businesses have access to affordable broadband internet service, according to a recent announcement from the university.
The university’s president, Mung Chiang, said the university’s efforts would focus on four areas: improving connectivity in the Greater Lafayette region by utilizing the university’s airport, broadband for rural counties, creation of a tech corridor for central Indiana, and further development of Purdue@DC, a program the school said will bring unique capabilities to Washington D.C.
According to the program’s website, Purdue@DC has an ongoing commitment to contribute to digital efforts in the capital by offering assistance in tech diplomacy, national security, semiconductor talents and C-Span archives research.
“It is part of our mission as a land-grant university to use resources, knowledge and scope of reach to aid in this critical endeavor,” Chiang said. “Broadband means better health care, better schools, stronger infrastructure and more jobs for people to choose from. This is about translating why it matters and helping make that linkage for people in communities.”
The October announcement from the school comes as Chiang is visiting all 92 counties in Indiana and hearing stories from rural residents about how broadband has been a game changer, according to the university.
The school said the Purdue Broadband Team is conducting outreach to residents to increase awareness of tools to verify service and programs that offer state and federal assistance to expand broadband.
The university said their broadband team is being launched at a critical time as the state commits to broadband on a governmental level.
Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Indiana’s secretary of agriculture and rural development, applauded Purdue’s announcement. She said she’s confident the state’s partnership with Purdue will accelerate efforts to ensure access in every community.
“Access to fast, reliable internet is a major contributor to quality of life and is one of the great equalizers in today’s society,” she said. “As a state, we have seen a direct connection between the number of people requesting broadband services in a certain area and the areas providers are most likely to invest in.”
