On the campaign trail and in the White House, President Barack Obama has embraced the view of providing high-speed World Wide Web access to every community in America. But the plans for universal broadband have gotten off to a rocky start. Some technology executives complain that the $7.2 billion allocated in the federal stimulus plan isn’t half the amount needed to do the job. Telecom companies, including AT&T and Verizon Communications, are so wary of the program’s potentially onerous rules — the strings that usually come attached with federal money — that they may sit out the first round of grants.

Now, the Obama Administration’s broadband plan looks to be getting a new group of unexpected partners: state and local governments eager to play a leading role in bringing fast World Wide Web connections to the nooks and crannies of the American landscape. Colorado, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia are planning to seek broadband stimulus money, BusinessWeek has learned. Tennessee

says it expects to receive as much as $150 million in broadband grants.

The involvement of local governments could add momentum to the Obama Web push. But state and local authorities will have to find approaches that work better than in the past. Earlier that decade, such cities as Philadelphia and Houston tried to build so-called municipal wireless networks to offer free Net service to local citizens. The efforts floundered, however, considering of higher-than–expected costs and administrative headaches.

Offsetting State Budget Deficits

Still, the money comes at an opportune instance for states and municipalities. Many are facing huge budget deficits but would like to finance the broadband plans to help stimulate economic development. “It’s a huge deal for us,” says Donald M. Elliman Jr., Colorado’s director of the Office of Economic Development & universal Trade. “We will be pretty aggressive in how we seek that funding.”

Virginia Technology Secretary Aneesh…

Original post by dhiram