Broadband Projects in 24 States Win Federal Funds

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) this week announced American Recovery and Reinvestment Act awards to 37 initiatives that aim to expand broadband access and bring digital literacy, education and job-related skills to residents across 24 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The grants will allow the winning partnerships to address a wide variety of broadband-related community information needs, including:

• comprehensive community infrastructure for delivering broadband services
• public computing and digital literacy resources
• sustainable broadband adoption projects, including workforce skill development and outreach to socially and economically disadvantaged populations

Looking over the latest announcements (here and here), it is notable that many of the initiatives will strengthen the broadband capacity of important community institutions, such as health care facilities, schools and universities, and libraries. For example, Alaska’s Department of Education and Early Development will use its $5.4 million grant to enhance public computing centers at 104 libraries statewide and launch a free public videoconferencing network available to all Alaska public library users.  In Iowa, an $8.3 million grant will enable the Central Iowa Hospital Corporation to bring high-speed broadband capabilities to rural medical facilities across underserved parts of the state and stimulate job creation within the rural health sector.

As the Knight Commission’s recommendation #7 emphasized, these anchor institutions serve an array of vital functions as centers for information, training and civic engagement, particularly in reaching out to rural or disadvantaged communities. These and other innovative projects demonstrate the ways in which anchor institutions can play a key role in serving the public’s digital needs.

Moreover, as Blair Levin, Senior Fellow at the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program who served as the Executive Director of the National Broadband Planning Team, writes in a forthcoming white paper to be released at a special Knight Commission Anniversary event on September 29,  improving connections to anchor institutions would also help to drive demand for broadband services in the community and improve the economic outlook for future investments in the infrastructure.

In the meantime, the clock is ticking down toward the September 30th deadline for making all awards in Round 2 of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).