Post by Logan on Feb 18, 2016 22:43:19 GMT -6
HARTFORD — Broadband access, already spotty in parts of Connecticut, faces new threats in proposed state spending cuts.
The budget that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has sent to the General Assembly would eliminate $307,250 for the Office of State Broadband established last year in the consumer counsel's office.
The budget also calls for cutting $2.9 million earmarked for the Connecticut Education Network and replacing state money with a "self-funded model" requiring public libraries and public schools to pay for computer access, said Jeffrey R. Beckham, spokesman for the state Department of Administrative Services. Costs would range from $3,000 to $100,000 annually based on how much bandwidth entities are using, he said.
Scott Taylor, director of the Connecticut Education Network, said businesses may question the spending cuts if they ultimately undermine state efforts to boost economic development with extension of high-speed Internet across the state.
Read more: www.courant.com/hc-broadband-connecticut-20160218-story.html
The budget that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has sent to the General Assembly would eliminate $307,250 for the Office of State Broadband established last year in the consumer counsel's office.
The budget also calls for cutting $2.9 million earmarked for the Connecticut Education Network and replacing state money with a "self-funded model" requiring public libraries and public schools to pay for computer access, said Jeffrey R. Beckham, spokesman for the state Department of Administrative Services. Costs would range from $3,000 to $100,000 annually based on how much bandwidth entities are using, he said.
Scott Taylor, director of the Connecticut Education Network, said businesses may question the spending cuts if they ultimately undermine state efforts to boost economic development with extension of high-speed Internet across the state.
Read more: www.courant.com/hc-broadband-connecticut-20160218-story.html