堪萨斯州：州长宣布1290万美元宽带加速拨款 覆盖44个乡村县
堪萨斯州州长 Laura Kelly 10月22日宣布，该州宽带加速拨款计划（BAG）最新一轮共发放1,290万美元，配套近1,400万美元私人与地方投资，合计约2,700万美元，用于在全州44个乡村县扩大高速互联网接入。
Kelly 表示，其政府致力于实现让堪萨斯州进入全美宽带接入前十的目标，可靠的宽带项目能确保更多居民获得远程医疗、在线教育与商业增长所需的数字连接。副州长兼商务厅长 David Toland 表示，高速互联网已是每位居民的日常必需，数字基础设施投资能给企业成长空间、让劳动者远程办公。
BAG 计划由 Kelly 于2020年发起，是一项为期十年、总额8,500万美元的计划，由州商务厅宽带发展办公室管理，资金来自州交通厅的艾森豪威尔交通计划。本轮拨款后，该计划对宽带基础设施的累计投资接近4,460万美元。
获资助项目将把光纤等基础设施送到服务不足的家庭、企业与农业经营场所。州政府介绍，过去六年，该计划通过州交通资金与互联网服务商、合作社的配套投资相结合，持续扩大高速网络覆盖。
Kansas: Governor Announces $12.9 Million in Broadband Acceleration Grants Covering 44 Rural Counties
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced on October 22 that $12.9 million has been awarded through the latest round of the state's Broadband Acceleration Grant (BAG) program. The awards will be matched with almost $14 million in private and local investment, for a total of about $27 million to expand high-speed internet access across 44 rural Kansas counties.
Kelly said her administration remains committed to making Kansas a top 10 state for broadband access, and that reliable broadband ensures more Kansans have the digital connections needed for telehealth, virtual education and business growth. Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said high-speed internet is a daily necessity, and that investing in digital infrastructure gives businesses room to grow and workers the freedom to work remotely.
The BAG program, initiated by Governor Kelly in 2020 as a 10-year, $85 million initiative, is administered by the Kansas Office of Broadband Development within the Department of Commerce and funded through the Kansas Department of Transportation's Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program. This round brings the program's total investment in broadband infrastructure to nearly $44.6 million.
The funded projects will deliver fiber and other infrastructure to underserved homes, businesses and agriculture operations in areas where distance and low population density make private expansion difficult without public co-investment.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：堪萨斯州议会大厦（Topeka）。摄影：w_lemay，CC BY-SA 2.0（Wikimedia Commons）。Photo: the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. Photo by w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
