[1st-mile-nm] First Broadband Stimulus Awards Announced
Richard Lowenberg
rl at 1st-mile.com
Thu Dec 17 11:28:54 PST 2009
The White House, RUS and NTIA today announced the first 18 ARRA Broadband
Stimulus grant awards. The announcement follows.
The NM State Library (w/ partner .orgs) is the first New Mexico project to
be funded. Additional awards will be announced on a rolling basis into the
next year. The State Library's "Sustainable Broadband Adoption" grant
includes funding for the 1st-Mile Institute to organize and host a 2010 NM
Broadband Conference and National Open Broadband Economic Summit.
More announcements to follow.
Richard
---------
On Behalf Of White House Press Office
Subject: Vice President Biden Kicks Off $7.2 Billion Recovery Act Broadband
Program
Vice President Biden Kicks Off $7.2 Billion Recovery Act Broadband Program
Joined by Governor Perdue, Vice President Announces an Initial $183 Million in
Awards to Expand Broadband Access in Seventeen States
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. ? Vice President Biden today kicked off $7.2 billion in
Recovery Act broadband grant and loan programs, of which $2 billion will be
made available on a rolling basis over the next 75 days to bring high-speed
Internet to communities that currently have little or no access to the
technology. At an event at Impulse Manufacturing in Dawsonville, Georgia, with
Governor Sonny Perdue (R-GA), he announced an initial $183 million investment in
eighteen broadband projects benefiting seventeen states which has already been
matched by over $46 million in public and private sector capital. The awards
are not only expected to provide initial job opportunities in infrastructure
and manufacturing, but help bridge the digital divide and boost economic
development for communities held back by limited or no access to the
technology.
?New broadband access means more capacity and better reliability in rural
areas and underserved urban communities around the country. Businesses will be
able to improve their customer service and better compete around the world,?
said Vice President Biden. ?This is what the Recovery Act is all about ?
sparking new growth, tapping into the ingenuity of the American people and
giving folks the tools they need to help build a new economy in the
21st-century.?
The projects receiving funds today are the first in the $7.2 billion program ?
$4.7 billion through the Department of Commerce?s National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) and $2.5 through the Department of
Agriculture?s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) ? being implemented under the
Recovery Act to expand broadband access and adoption across the country. The
awards are designed to help underserved ? and often hard-hit ? communities
overcome the distance and technology barrier by expanding connectivity between
educational institutions, enabling remote medical consultations and attracting
new businesses ? as well as the jobs that come with them. They are part of
an over $100 billion investment in science, technology and innovation the
Administration is making through the Recovery Act to lay a new foundation for
economic growth.
?Broadband is the new dial tone of the 21st-century,? said Governor Perdue.
?Internet access is as important to our communications infrastructure today as
reliable telephone service was a century ago. Creating an advanced network will
promote economic development, expand educational opportunities and improve the
availability and efficiency of government services.?
The National Economic Council today released a report, ?Recovery Act
Investment in Broadband: Leveraging Federal Dollars to Create Jobs and Connect
America,? which found that Recovery Act investments in broadband will create
tens of thousands of jobs in the near term and expand opportunities and
economic development in communities that would otherwise be left behind in the
new knowledge-based economy. A copy of the report can be viewed HERE.
As part of today?s announcement, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke traveled to
Bangor, Maine, where he announced $25.4 million in grants to build broadband
infrastructure throughout rural and disadvantaged portions of parts of the
state. On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Ohio to
discuss how a $2.4 million broadband award will help boost economic development
in the region and connect the local community to the smart energy grid.
"Expanding high-speed Internet access is critical to improving America?s
economic competitiveness,"said Secretary Locke. "Unless we use the 21st-century
tools at our disposal, America will never be as connected as it could be. And
that connection is crucial for our economic future."
?These broadband investments continue the Obama Administration?s efforts to
create jobs, expand economic opportunities and build a stronger rural
America,? said Secretary Vilsack. ?We must take steps to keep the
institutions that are the heart and soul of our communities strong, and that is
why many of these grants and loans support anchor institutions ? such as
libraries, public buildings and community centers ? that are necessary for
the viability of rural communities.?
Four different types of awards were made today:
Middle Mile Awards ? $121.6 million to build and improve connections to
communities lacking sufficient broadband access.
Last Mile Awards ? $51.4 million to connect end users like homes, hospitals
and schools to their community?s broadband infrastructure (the middle mile).
Public Computing ? $7.3 million to expand computer center capacity for public
use in libraries, community colleges and other public venues.
? Sustainable Adoption ? $2.4 million to fund innovative projects
that promote broadband demand with population groups where the technology has
traditionally been underutilized.
The following Middle Mile awards were made through the Department of Commerce:
? GEORGIA: North Georgia Network Cooperative, Inc., $33.5 million
grant with an additional $8.8 million in matching funds to deploy a 260-mile
regional fiber-optic ring to deliver gigabit broadband speeds, reliability,
affordability, and abundant interconnection points for last mile service in the
North Georgia foothills.
? MAINE: Biddeford Internet Corp. (d.b.a. GWI), $25.4 million grant
with an additional $6.4 million in matching funds to build a 1,100-mile open
access fiber-optic network extending to the most rural and disadvantaged areas
of the state of Maine, from the Saint John Valley in the north, to the rocky
coastline of downeast Maine, to the mountainous regions of western Maine.
? NEW YORK: ION Hold Co., LLC, $39.7 million grant with an additional
$9.9 million in matching funds to build 10 new segments of fiber-optic, middle
mile broadband infrastructure, serving more than 70 rural communities in
upstate New York and parts of Pennsylvania and Vermont.
? SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota Network, LLC, $20.6 million grant with an
additional $5.1 million in matching funds to add 140 miles of backbone network
and 219 miles of middle mile spurs to existing network, enabling the delivery
of at least 10 Mbps service to more than 220 existing anchor institution
customers in rural and underserved areas of the state.
The following Public Computer Center awards were made through the Department of
Commerce:
? ARIZONA: Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, $1.3
million grant with matching funds of $320,000 to enhance existing facilities in
more than 80 public libraries throughout the state. The project expects to
deploy more than 1,000 computers to meet growing demand.
? MASSACHUSETTS: City of Boston, $1.9 million grant with matching
funds of $477,000 to expand computer and Internet capacity at the city?s main
library and 25 branches, 16 community centers, and 11 public housing sites.
? MINNESOTA: Regents of the University of Minnesota, $2.9 million
grant with matching funds of $741,000 to enhance broadband awareness and use
for residents in four federally-designated poverty zones in Minneapolis and St.
Paul.
? WASHINGTON: The Inland Northwest Community Access Network (Tincan),
$1.3 million grant with matching funds of $753,000 to establish three new
public computer centers and expand 14 existing centers throughout Spokane?s
poorest neighborhoods to serve more than 5,000 additional users per week.
The following Sustainable Broadband Adoption awards were made through the
Department of Commerce:
? NEW MEXICO: New Mexico State Library, $1.5 million grant with an
additional $591,000 in matching funds to increase broadband adoption and
promote computer literacy and Internet use among vulnerable populations,
Hispanic and Native American users, small businesses, and entrepreneurs through
trainings and outreach statewide.
? WASHINGTON: The Inland Northwest Community Access Network, $981,000
grant with an additional $728,000 in matching funds to increase broadband
adoption through basic and advanced computer skill training, as well as
community-based outreach campaigns to highlight the benefits of broadband for
vulnerable populations in Spokane.
The following Last Mile and Middle Mile awards were made today through the U.S.
Department of Agriculture:
? ALASKA: Anchorage, Rivada Sea Lion, LLC, $25.3 million grant with
$6.4 million of leveraged funds; 4G high-speed broadband internet service
availability to more than 9,000 unserved locations in a 90,000 square mile area
where these Southwestern Alaska inhabitants are living at subsistence level.
? HAWAII: Big Island Broadband/Aloha Broadband, Inc., $106,503 loan
with matching funds of $87,405 to bring broadband services to an unserved area
in the northern part of the islands where there are nearly 600 residents and
businesses.
? COLORADO/NEBRASKA: Peetz, Colorado, Peetz Cooperative Telephone Co.,
$1.5 million grant; expansion of existing infrastructure utilizing a combination
of technologies. This project will make broadband service available to as many
as 550 locations in the service area.
? MICHIGAN: The Chatham Telephone Company, $8.6 million grant to bring
high speed DSL broadband service to remote, unserved businesses and households
within its rural territory; service that is comparable to the DSL service
provided in its more populated areas.
? NEW HAMPSHIRE: Bretton Woods, The Bretton Woods Telephone Company,
$985,000 grant for 20 Mbps two-way broadband service to all potential customers
and stimulate tourism in the area to substantially improve the local economy.
This Fiber to The Premise service will be available to more than 400 locations.
? NEW YORK: Potsdam, Slic Network Solutions (Nicholville Telephone) a
grant of $4.3 million and loan of $1.1 million for a 136-mile fiber optic
network reaching into five towns in rural Franklin County. This all-fiber
network will deliver broadband voice, and IPTV services to remote rural areas.
The network will offer service to more than 6,500 locations.
? OHIO: North Central Ohio Rural Fiber Optic Network, Consolidated
Electric Cooperative, $1,034,413 grant and $1,399,499 loan; and matching funds
of $1,225,000. The funding is integral to a smart grid initiative and
broadband service based on an open-connectivity fiber optic backbone network.
? OKLAHOMA: Southeast Oklahoma, The Pine Telephone Company, $9.5 grant
with an additional $4.6 million in private funds to provide services to an
entirely remote, rural, unserved and severely economically disadvantaged
community.
More information about efforts regarding the Recovery Act is available at
www.usda.gov/recovery,www.commerce.gov/recovery, www.Recovery.gov and
www.WhiteHouse.gov/Recovery.
###
--
Richard Lowenberg
1st-Mile Institute
P.O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110; 505-603-5200 cell
rl at 1st-mile.com www.1st-mile.com
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