LUS Fiber Awarded $3.1 M Grant to Expand Broadband into Rural Acadiana

摘要

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded a $3.1 million grant to LUS Fiber - Lafayette, Louisiana's fiber system - in partnership with Acadiana Planning Commission (APC) for the development and construction of broadband infrastructure into rural southwest Louisiana. "In a post-COVID economy, the challenge to bring reliable broadband to Acadiana's rural communities has become as important as the delivery of other basic utilities," says Monique Boulet, CEO of the Acadiana Planning Commission. "The capacity to upload, download and live stream, sometimes simultaneously while others in the office or home are doing the same thing, has strong implications on Acadiana's rural economic survival. Decisions that we make today about broadband expansion will determine which of Acadiana's towns will survive in the future. Those left behind in broadband delivery will be just that-left behind."