Faster internet and the capability to share more information between hospitals and towns and school is what La Salle County wants to get out of a broadband initiative.
The county is applying to receive federal money for fiber optic network. The grant is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Herb Kuryliw is the Chief Network Archietect for Information Technology Services at Northern Illinois University. He’s been working on a network that has been created in Dekalb County and will run as far south at Earlville and Leland.
La Salle County would connect with the Dekalb County backbone.
Kuryliw says it would help schools network and have a faster connection and hospitals share large medical files quickly and anywhere.
Reed Wilson is the Economic Development Director for Ottawa. He says the grant requires a 20 to 30 percent local match. Some of that would be met by the state another portion of it would need to come from local communities.
They need to have the grant application submitted by then end of March.