by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)
Lou McAlister, CEO of Little Rock-based Broadband Development Group, has been tasked by the Arkansas Legislature to help create a master plan for expanding broadband Internet across the state.
Already, hundreds of millions of dollars from federal and state pandemic relief and infrastructure investment funds have been awarded to fiber companies to jump-start hundreds of broadband deployment projects, particularly in rural Arkansas.
McAlister is compiling a variety of data from the U.S. Census and current Internet providers to create a map that shows where broadband exists in certain communities. He estimates that about 90% of the Census and current broadband providers’ data is input and accurate, while the remaining 10% may require physically surveying areas of Arkansas.
