In his State of the State address last month, Gov. Doug Ducey announced $10 million for rural broadband development grants — that’s three times the previous year’s amount.
According to the 2018 Arizona Statewide Broadband Strategic Plan, nearly 900,000 Arizonans had limited to no access to high-speed internet. Those residents were mainly in rural parts of the state, or in tribal communities.
So how much of a difference would this new money make?
To find out, KJZZ's Mark Brodie spoke with Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA, the Rural Broadband Association, which represents broadband providers across rural America.