§ 4-113-103 - Connect Arkansas -- Nonprofit organization -- Purposes -- Grants. - Arkansas Statutes

4-113-103. Connect Arkansas -- Nonprofit organization -- Purposes -- Grants.

(a) The Arkansas Capital Corporation may form a nonprofit corporation named "Connect Arkansas" to:

(1) Prepare the people and businesses of Arkansas to secure the economic, educational, health, social, and other benefits available via broadband use;

(2) Facilitate the availability of broadband service to every home and business in Arkansas;

(3) Promote broadband-based development in Arkansas, with the goals of facilitating:

(A) Broadband education so that the citizens of every home and business in Arkansas can take full advantage of broadband services; and

(B) The availability of broadband service to broadband-educated citizens in every home and business in Arkansas by the end of the year 2012; and

(4) Recognizing that such services as geographical information system data delivery and high-definition television programs require increasingly huge demands in bandwidth, promote broadband backbone networks that will serve all of Arkansas with the bandwidth to support Arkansas home and business needs into the foreseeable future.

(b) The Governor, and with the consent of the Governor, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority, and any other state entity may make grants available for the purpose of supporting Connect Arkansas.