On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("The Recovery Act", also known as the "Stimulus Package" and also known as the "ARRA") into law. The essential goal of the Recovery Act is to provide a direct financial boost to help lift our Nation from the greatest economic crisis in our lifetimes and lay the foundation for future growth. Accordingly, the Recovery Act identifies five overall purposes:

1. to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery;
2. to assist those most impacted by the recession;
3. to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health;
4. to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits;
5. to stabilize state and local government budgets

The Recovery Act further instructs the President and the heads of federal departments and agencies to manage and expend Recovery Act funds to achieve these five purposes, commencing expenditures and activities as quickly as possible consistent with prudent management.

Consistent with the purposes described above, the Recovery Act provides the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) of the Department of Agriculture and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce with $7.2 billion, or roughly $2 million dollar for each rural county in the US, to expand access to broadband services in the United States. In so doing, it recognizes the growing importance of access to broadband services to economic development and to the quality of life of all Americans. Specifically, the Recovery Act tasks RUS, NTIA, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with leading the federal government’s efforts to begin the process of significantly expanding the reach and quality of broadband services.

Associations, civic groups, non-profits, hospitals and mental health facilities, senior citizen homes, child care facilities and a wide range of other organizations can improve their reach, enhance the services that they provide and realize their dreams of a better life for the citizens of Carroll County whom they serve with high speed wireless broadband access. Many of their peer organizations are benefiting in communities large and small all over the US. Here is a list of seven initiatives that are working elsewhere to fire the imagination and get some ideas flowing:

1. Improved At Home Mental Health Care just like Floresville, Texas.
2. Better Quality of Life in Elder Care Facilities just like Woodinville,Washington.
3. Debit Card Processing at Farmer's Markets just like in Oregon.
4. More Efficient Non-Profit Management just like Madera County, California.
5. Closing the Digital Divide just like Minneapolis, Minnesota.
6. Spur Economic Development just like Allegany County, Maryland.
7. Better and Safer Emergency Response just like many counties around the US.

If you would like to see your wireless dreams come true and bring your department, agency or division into the 21st century with high speed wireless network access visit the Join/Help page for additional details.