The state of Idaho hopes its cash commitment for expanding broadband Internet access will allow rural residents to race down the information superhighway.

On July 14, Gov. Jim Risch awarded $4.9 million to four Internet service providers to expand broadband Internet access to 50,000 potential customers across rural Idaho.

Each company will have to match the grant money it receives in cash.

Qwest got the bulk of the funds — about $3.77 million — and has plans for 53 projects, nine of which will come in Bingham, Bonneville, Jefferson and Madison counties. Those nine projects — set for Blackfoot, Firth, Lewisville/

Menan, Roberts, Rigby, Ririe, Riverside, Rexburg and Shelley — account for more than $550,000 of the grant money and will serve close to 5,500 potential customers.

Currently, high-speed Internet is available in each city through Cable One or Teton Wireless. Teton Wireless offers high-speed access from $19.95 to $59.95 a month, depending on speed. Cable One charges $39.95 to $59.95 a month, and Qwest is offering service for $26.99 a month for the first year and $39.99 thereafter in their service area.

Qwest representative Ed Lodge said it will take the company until January to start putting equipment in place. The project will take nearly two years to complete, he said.

Some say adding another Internet option is a great thing, especially for Firth, which Qwest says has 952 potential customers.

“Once you work with higher-speed Internet, it opens your mind to new possibilities,” said J. Brandon Bird, executive director of Bingham Economic Development Corp. “Who knows when Firth would be seeing the upgrade?”

Bird speculates that small businesses runing out of people’s homes will be most affected by this addition and said it will be hard to judge whether added service increases businesses because they’re not readily visible.

Bob Fick, communication manager for the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor, said the service could potentially jump-start rural businesses that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to develop.

“This’ll bring them into the game,” he said. “High-speed communication is critical to being part of the global economic environment.”

Others aren’t so sure increased broadband access will help bring business to town.

Bingham County Commissioner Wayne T. Brower said he’d rather see Blackfoot have an upgraded ISDN phone system and call center. ISDN stands for integrated systems digital network and allows data and voice to be transmitted at the same time through a high-speed phone line. Brower said a new call center is vital because businesses wouldn’t have to route calls to Pocatello or Idaho Falls like they do now.

“That’s what’s going to bring business here,” Brower said.

Brower did say the increased service will help Bingham County, but it will come at a price.

“It’s certainly helpful,” he said. “The reality is each individual has to pay for the service.”

Firth City Clerk Robert Dial echoed Brower’s thoughts. He said the price of Qwest’s DSL service will determine whether people actually use it.

By the numbers

Qwest’s grant money breakdown by the numbers:

City Potential Customers Grant Money $ spent per person

Firth - 952 - $121,000 - about $123

Blackfoot - 630 - $81,000 - about $128.50

Shelley  -65 - $8,000 - about $127

Lewisville/Menan - 1,505 - $121,400 - about $80.75

Roberts - 283 - $37,300 - about $131.80

Rigby - 204 - $16,000 - about $78.50

Ririe -145 - $20,000 - about $138

Riverside -1,167 - $114,600 - about $98.25

Rexburg -523 - $33,000 - about $63

Speed of Qwest’s broadband service:

between 1.5MB and 3MB per second