Obama signs off on stimulus bill

President Obama has pledged a sizeable investment as part of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act

President Obama has signed off on a stimulus package which promises some $7.2bn for new broadband systems.

The funding is a part of the president's $787bn (£554bn) Recovery and Reinvestment Act aimed at injecting new life into the stagnant American economy.

Much of the $7.2bn (£5bn) will be focused on expanding the reach of broadband networks. The new systems will target rural and underdeveloped areas in the country which commercial telecoms providers have yet to reach.

The administration hopes that the measure will not only lure companies to those areas, but improve the quality of life.

"America once led the world in broadband access, but for years has fallen further and further behind other nations in our technology capacity, thereby depriving American citizens of the necessary tools for success in the global economy," the administration said in a summary of the bill.

"The Recovery and Reinvestment Act takes steps to ensure that nearly every community in America, urban, suburban and rural, has high-speed broadband access."

IT firms may also see new investment from the bill's energy plan. The package calls for $11bn (£7bn) to be spent on a high-tech 'smart grid' system to monitor and manage the nation's energy consumption.

Among the proposals in the energy plan are 40 million 'smart meter' systems and $100m (£70m) for new systems training programmes for workers.