Colleges and universities have applied for tens of millions of dollars in federal stimulus grants designed to expand broadband internet access, arguing that university IT infrastructure makes campuses worthy recipients. More than 2,200 applicants asked for a total of $28 billion in broadband funds during this initial application process–roughly seven times the amount available. Most of the applications proposed building out internet lines to bring broadband access to rural American towns and cities. A review of colleges and universities that applied for federal broadband grant money showed many campuses vying to provide more computers with broadband web access to local residents, and other schools hoping to establish wide-ranging cloud-computing networks.

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