U.S. Broadband Investment Offers More Than Just IT Jobs

The $7.2 billion slice of the $787 billion economic stimulus package set aside to spur investment in high-speed Internet may not live up to its full promise of job creation.

Instead, the program's success is better calibrated by how it improves productivity and spreads more opportunity to people in rural areas often overlooked by big corporations, according to industry experts at a Thursday conference on the impact of the stimulus.

Smaller carriers with inroads in rural areas are the most likely to seek the funds, Wall Street analysts said. These carriers include CenturyTel Inc, Windstream Corp and Frontier Communications Corp.

U.S. Broadband Investment Offers More Than Just IT Jobs

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