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PCCA Journal|1

st

Quarter 2010

30

News Briefs

Continued from page 29

North Dakota

Burleigh County, BEK Communications Cooperative,

$1,986,473 grant and $2,016,571 loan, $2,016,572

in leveraged funds. The funding will provide fiber-

to-the-premises broadband service to underserved

homes and anchor institutions. This will aid busi-

ness growth and support public safety in rural areas

highly dependent on internet business income.

Traill County, Halstad Telephone Company,

$2,027,600 grant and $2,027,600 loan, $10,000 in

leveraged funds. The funding will provide fiber-to-the

premises broadband service to unserved homes and

businesses in Traill County.

Oregon

Marion County, Gervais Telephone Company, $314,430

grant and $314,430 loan. This project extends Gervais

Telephone Company’s existing fiber network by build-

ing out from the nearest fiber splice point through the

funded service area. This project will provide broad-

band connectivity to residential and business end

users, as well as to four anchor institutions.

Virginia

Alleghany County, NTELOS Telephone Inc.,

$8,062,088 grant and $8,062,088 loan. The funds will

provide broadband infrastructure to unserved and

underserved homes, businesses, and critical com-

munity institutions in this rural county. A fiber-based

project, it will enable work-from-home jobs and

foster economic development and improve health,

education, and public safety services.

Commerce Department

Awards Broadband Funds

T

he Department of Com-

merce’s National Telecom-

munications and Infor-

mation Administration

(NTIA) recently announced

grants totaling $63 million

to expand broadband access and

adoption in Massachusetts, Michi-

gan, and North Carolina. Funded

by the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act, NTIA’s Broad-

band Technology Opportunities

Program (BTOP) provides grants to

support the deployment of broad-

band infrastructure in unserved and

underserved areas, enhance and

expand public computer centers,

and encourage sustainable adop-

tion of broadband service. These

investments will help bridge the

technological divide, boost economic

growth and create jobs, NTIA said.

“High-speed internet access is

the lifeblood of today’s economy,”

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke

said. “Having access to the internet’s

economic, health, and educational

benefits should be as much of a

fundamental American right as at-

tending a quality school. Our best

minds should be able to talk to one

another, create and innovate regard-

less of where they come from. These

grants are an important step toward

expanding high-speed internet ac-

cess into the unserved and under-

served areas of the country.”

NTIA received nearly 1,800 appli-

cations during the first BTOP fund-

ing round and is currently awarding

grants on a rolling basis. NTIA has

awarded 15 grants totaling ap-

proximately $200 million under the

program.

BTOP grants fall into one of three

categories. Infrastructure grants

build and improve connections

to communities lacking sufficient

broadband access. Public computer

center grants expand computer

center capacity for public use in

libraries, community colleges, and

other public venues. Sustainable

broadband adoption grants fund in-

novative projects to increase broad-

band subscription levels in areas or

among population groups where the

technology has traditionally been

underutilized.

The following grants were an-

nounced:

Massachusetts, University of

Massachusetts-Lowell:

$780,000

broadband adoption grant with an

additional $196,000 in applicant-

provided matching funds to pro-

mote broadband awareness and

computer literacy among vulner-

able populations.

Michigan, Merit Network, Inc.:

$33.3 million infrastructure grant

with an additional $8.3 million in

matching funds to build a 955-

mile advanced fiber-optic network

through 32 counties in Michigan’s

Lower Peninsula. The project also

intends to directly connect 44

community anchor institutions

and will serve an area cover-

ing 886,000 households, 45,800

businesses, and an additional 378

anchor institutions.

Michigan, Michigan State Uni-

versity:

$895,000 public computer

center grant with an additional

$235,000 in matching funds to ex-

pand 84 existing library computer

News Briefs continued on page 32