More than 40 percent of Blaine County residents don’t have access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet service and the Oklahoma Broadband Office is on a mission to eliminate that gap, Mike Sanders, executive director of the office, told attendees of the Watonga Kiwanis Club on Wednesday.
Sanders, a former state representative for Watonga and Blaine County for 12 years, has been at the helm of the OBO since April. He outlined OBO’s ongoing work to ensure broadband service is made available throughout Blaine County and throughout Oklahoma.
“The effort we are undertaking is a great one,” Sanders said. “The benefit to families, farms, businesses and communities is this generation’s equivalent of the impact of rural electrification in the 1930s and the interstate highway system in the 1950s.”
Sanders gave examples of economic expansion made possible by high-speed internet expansion and he told the Kiwanians how fast internet has made it possible for rural businesses to expand and grandparents in rural Oklahoma to have video chats with their grandchildren who live out of state.
The OBO will administer more than $1.3 billion in federal grant funding, he said. The money will be awarded to Internet Service Providers to build infrastructure to the more than 728,000 Oklahomans who lack such service today.
Sanders urged attendees to check out the OBO’s broadband service map t map.broadband.ok.gov. The map, launched in August, offers a way for Oklahomans to track improvements in highspeed internet service throughout the state. Among the unique features of the map is the ability to view service availability by congressional districts and state legislative districts.
“We have the right people, policies and procedures in place to ensure our mission is fulfilled on time and in a transparent, fair and efficient manner,” he said. “The investment we are making will be a game changer for Blaine County and the entire state for generations to come.”
About the Oklahoma Broadband Office
Oklahoma has launched a bold and transparent effort to ensure fast and affordable broadband internet service is available throughout the state and the Oklahoma Broadband Office is a key component.
Created in 2022, the office is on a mission to develop and administer federal grant programs to make affordable, highspeed internet available to all Oklahomans. It also coordinates efforts throughout the state to ensure broadband expansion is conducted effectively and efficiently.