IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) says it has concluded plans to deploy its Backbone Infrastructure Project (BTRAIN) Pilot Project. BTRAIN is a 1000km-fibre backbone infrastructure project under which USPF and is providing subsidy to accelerate the build-out of backbone transmission infrastructure to all local government areas in Nigeria.

The WiMAX Forum® congratulates the recipients of the US Department of Agriculture’s RUS Fund round two grants and loans. The 40 awardees from 22 states received over $504 million in grants and loans for use in the deployment of WiMAX networks.

“The allocations of these funds are a significant win for the awardees, and for the greater broadband wireless industry. But more than that, the real big winners here are the consumers in rural communities who will benefit from affordable broadband services via WiMAX,” said Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum. “WiMAX is the ideal technology to help bring broadband to those who currently can’t get access while keeping service and device costs low – from small towns across the U.S. to rural villages in India.”

The FCC on Thursday announced the topics for the 18 workshops, to be hosted at the FCC's headquarters in Washington, D.C., between Aug. 6 and Sept. 3. The FCC continues to ask the public to suggest topics and submit questions that can be asked at the workshops.

Project OVERCOME, led by US Ignite and funded by the National Science Foundation, will select five proof-of-concept projects to grow access to broadband connectivity in underserved or unserved areas.

The development of broadband service in disadvantaged communities has received the attention of a leading advancer of smart cities initiatives.

US Ignite, a tech nonprofit charged with bolstering smart communities, has launched Project OVERCOME, which will select and build out five proof-of-concept broadband projects in underserved or unserved communities. This effort is being funded, in part, by a $1.95 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Communities face a lot of challenges in improving Internet access. The key is engaging stakeholders in a collaborative process.

High-speed Internet access is essential. It is as simple as that. What is genuinely complicated is making it happen at the ground level. We face a range of technological, economic and political challenges in solving this problem. These issues range from existing providers that don't welcome new competition, to state barriers and regulations, to obstacles at the federal level for communities trying to find a creative, local solution to their lack of high-quality access.

Rural health care facilities in eight counties in northern New York will have high quality, affordable digital connectivity necessary to share telemedicine and telehealth services starting in late November.

The Adirondack – Champlain Telemedicine Information Network (ACTION) is a regional initiative formed to create a fiber optic telecommunications and telemedicine network that connects eight participating hospitals, 40 primary care facilities affiliated with these hospitals and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Health Care Facility.

ECC Technologies of Penfield was invited to address national broadband issues in Washington

ECC Technologies Inc. and its Ontario County leaders are helping shape national broadband policy.

The Penfield-based national broadband consulting company was invited to the White House for the Sept. 21 rollout of $10 million in federal support to help local communities develop high-speed broadband.

The consortium has awarded a contract to Hughes to provide high-speed satellite services for mobile telehealth clinics throughout New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

Last week’s summit had a packed agenda, covering everything from energy conservation to sustainable fishing practices. One big topic of conversation was broadband and the power of high-speed Internet to open up economic, educational and social opportunities in some of the poorest, most isolated communities in our nation.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski made the announcement Wednesday at 190-bed Oakland (Calif.) Children's Hospital & Research Center.

The FCC program, its new Healthcare Connect Fund, will encourage the use of broadband telecommunications technology “to support modern telemedicine, which will link urban centers to rural clinics or provide instant access to health records,” according to a news release.

The project is the first in the nation to be obligated, which allows Mescalero Apache Telephone Inc. officials to take advantage of low interest dollars. With the loan, it can upgrade specific portions of its copper cable facilities with fiber.

Persistence and a good plan moved Mescalero Apache Telephone Inc. (MATI) to the front of the line for financing by the U.S, Department of Agriculture of a multimillion dollar broadband communication system.

Officials from the Rural Development Division of the USDA were in the area Thursday to present a certificate of obligation to officials of MATI and the Mescalero Tribal Council, representing the $5.397,000 obligation by the Rural Development's Rural Utilities Service's Telecommunications Loan Program and the Substantially Underserved Trust Land Program.

Broadband is commonly described as a critical piece of modern infrastructure. Here’s how a city, a state and a school district are working to make sure everyone has access.

We’ve become a land of digital haves and have-nots. “Buying cheaper goods directly from wholesalers, immediately accessing government services and finding employment opportunities are increasingly only available to those who have an online connection,” say Brookings Institution researchers.

I don’t think we are. The absence of key details impedes communities’ attempts to generate economic outcomes.

Economists, the FCC, a parade of private-sector companies and industry trade associations are frequently cited — along with all sorts of numbers that claim to prove the economic value of broadband. But one source it seems you don’t see enough is economic development professionals, the people who work day in and day out to save, maintain and grow local economies.

The administration pointed to policies impacting health care, residential access to advanced services, and business benefits.

The Obama administration is hoping to use broadband service to help revitalize main streets in 10 small towns in six Appalachian states.

The plan is part of the administration's “Cool & Connected” program, in which teams of experts help communities develop action plans for using existing or expanded broadband service to create “walkable, connected, economically vibrant main streets and small town neighborhoods.”

To me, it’s fairly simple. Better internet access means more economic and educational opportunities, and a higher quality of life.

There are currently several barriers to high-speed internet access in many parts of our Appalachian region. Many of you know this unfortunate fact all too well. I’ve heard stories from a countless number of you: children having to go to the local library or to a fast-food restaurant in a neighboring town just to complete their homework; not being able to run a business in today’s information centric world economy; not being able to get online to upload pictures of your grandchildren; dropped cell phone calls; or, simply just not having the internet access necessary in today’s world.

Most of Arkansas' 276 school districts will be connected to the state's upgraded fiber network over the next 12 months.

Arkansas started investing in technology for its K-12 system in the early 1990s through the development of the Arkansas Public School Computer Network. The network linked schools together, but in 2015, broadband Internet connectivity is lacking. Recently elected Gov. Asa Hutchinson recognized a need for its students to get connected and the state is now launching an upgrade – totaling about $13 million annually – to its fiber infrastructure that will bolster education efforts and provide a stepping stone for further broadband development in the state.