The Obama administration said Tuesday it will speed up the process of handing out $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus grants in response to criticism from applicants and lawmakers that the program isn’t getting money out quickly enough.Administration officials said they also are looking at whether they should devote more of the roughly $3 billion that will be handed out in the second round to high-volume Internet lines in rural areas that could be shared by private companies, libraries and others instead of “last-mile” projects that would be used by a single company to offer broadband service to the home.
The moves come amid broader concern in Congress and the administration about unemployment, which hit 10.2% in October. Republicans have criticized the administration’s $787 billion stimulus program, saying it has moved too slowly and generated too few jobs.
