26.2 million Americans still lack access to 3 Mbps/768 kbps or faster fixed broadband services, and 72% of them live in rural areas, according to a new report released by the Federal Communications Commission and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) within the Department of Agriculture (USDA). This number constitutes 28% of rural Americans and is more than nine times as large as the 3% that lack access in non-rural areas. Further, it was noted that rural consumers have fewer choices among technologies and service providers. This new report also recognized the substantial investments that have been made including $8 billion in grants and loans that were given to projects for broadband deployment and adoption via RUS’ Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) and NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). It made note of initiatives to improve data collection, and the creation of a National Broadband Map.
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The White House is set to announce a number of public and private sector initiatives on Monday morning that are geared towards accelerating the modernization of the Nation’s electric infrastructure, bolstering electric-grid innovation, and advancing a clean energy economy. They include $250 million in Rural Utility Service (RUS) loans for smart-grid technology deployment, a private sector initiative to promote consumer-friendly tools for energy management and privacy, and the formation of a Renewable Energy Rapid Response Team which will be jointly led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Energy.

A report titled "A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid" by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) will also be released at today's event. This report will address steps the administration plans to take to meet it's goals of boosting the development and deployment of smart grid technologies, creation of standards and interoperability to drive innovation, improved grid security and resilience, and consumer-focused energy information access and engagement.

The announcement will be made at a meeting today scheduled for 10am ET. A webcast of the meeting will be available on the White House website. For more information, see this press release.