Oklahoma Public Libraries Become Broadband Access Hubs

Filed 1mo ago · Via Daily Yonder · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Grand Dark Waltz Allegretto

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Detroit Publishing Co. · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

Oklahoma has launched a statewide program placing up to 175 private, internet-connected 'community access portals' in public libraries, funded by a $14.5 million American Rescue Plan grant.

As of August, 40 libraries in 32 counties had requested 61 portals, with the rest slated for installation by year's end; each comes with five years of maintenance and staff training.

The push responds to a real gap — 18% of Oklahoma households lacked broadband in 2021, rising to half in some rural pockets — and officials frame the portals as a way to access telehealth, job interviews, and education without leaving town.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Comparing a phone booth with Wi-Fi to rural electrification and the interstate system is the kind of modesty officials reserve for ribbon-cuttings. The need is real and the money is federal, so let the portals do the talking instead of the metaphors.

Source: Read the original at Daily Yonder → Scored: Grand Dark Waltz Allegretto · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0