Louisiana Official Assures High Speed Internet Coming To All

Is it a case of "business as usual" or is Louisiana truly committed to providing a source of high-speed internet to everyone?

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In a recent interview with the Louisiana Radio Network, Louisiana Director of the State Office of Broadband Development Veneeth Iyengar said, “I can’t stress the importance of the development of broadband and how it needs to go to every single nook and cranny of the state and how it impacts both workforce development and economic development.”

Given the implied importance of the high-speed internet initiative, Louisiana created the GUMBO grant program.  Connectla.gov says,

The Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) grant program aims to help private providers facilitate the deployment of broadband service to unserved areas of the state. The initial round of grants was awarded in summer of 2022. More than $170 million was awarded to projects in 50 different parishes, with over 80,000 locations to be served.

Maybe I'm somewhat biased due to the fact that internet in the area where I live is as slow as it's ever been and we've heard of this initiative for over two years with absolutely no movement or rumors of improvement anytime in the near future.

And the fact that Louisiana is claiming they've spent more than $170 million providing this high-speed internet to over 80,000 locations is a tough pill to swallow.  Where are these locations?  Have there been any improvements north of I-10?

And now, Iyengar is claiming that 88% of all the GUMBO 1.0 projects have been completed or are under construction and that soon Louisiana will roll out GUMBO 2.0, "ensuring every community, no matter how small, has high-speed internet" and we are just supposed to believe it?

Iyengar told Louisiana Radio Network that $1.36 billion of federal funds is dedicated to the project and that for those communities not part of the initial rollout of monies from the American Rescue Plan Act, this second round via GUMBO 2.0 should provide high speed internet to an additional 140,000 locations.

Again, it seems like the same song, second verse.  However, Iyengar's position on how life changing the upgrade to high speed internet will be for these rural areas is spot on, and he highlights areas that should see immediate improvement.

Iyengar said,

For example, revenue increases for small businesses that can process credit cards. “Increase healthcare outcomes, as a result of now people having better access to preventative care as opposed to ending up in the emergency department. So, you’ll quickly start to see the outcomes that are generated as a result of getting people internet.”

Anyone living in one of the areas "not included in the first rollout" would certainly agree with how important high speed internet connectivity has become, but very few legitimately believe that there area will ever benefit from this initiative.

Hopefully we will all be proven wrong in the very near future as Iyengar assures that this broadband initiative is a high priority for Governor Jeff Landry.