NTCA's The New Edge » NTIA

More on LightSquared

Steve Fravel — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:16:13 +0000

To review what has taken place over the past week or so: the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Executive Committee announced on Friday January 13 that, “Based upon this testing analysis, there appear to be no practical solutions or mitigations that would permit the LightSquared broadband service, as proposed, to operate in the next few months or years without significantly interfering with GPS. As a result, no additional testing is warranted at this time.” The announcement was released after follow-up testing of general location and navigation devices and cellular GPS had taken place.

The Committee reports to NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. NTIA is charged with performing interference testing and reporting the results to the FCC, which will then make a formal decision as to the viability of LightSquared’s network plan. Prior to the PNT Executive Committee announcement, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) had indicated the need to perform follow-up testing.

LightSquared has repeatedly protested the methodology of the testing, claiming that there are several measures that can be taken to mitigate or remove the interference in its licensed L Band spectrum, including reducing transmission power and utilization of filtering devices manufactured to LightSquared’s specifications, which would then be adopted by GPS devices.

LightSquared has placed the blame for the interference on the GPS industry, suggesting that the interference begins with the GPS devices and poorly designed filtering mechanisms that leak into LightSquared’s licensed frequency.

Early during the week of January 16, LightSquared claimed that the testing had been “rigged by manufacturers,” and poorly conceived from a technological design. The company further claimed that in addition to obsolete equipment and power levels set higher than LightSquared had indicated necessary for operation, secrecy and non-disclosure agreements made it impossible to have the testing overseen or challenged by independent, third-party organizations.

LightSquared has signed 37 customers for its proposed wholesale service. According to Sprint, LightSquared’s network partner, continued and extended delays threaten the viability of the LightSquared plan. Sprint and LightSquared have acknowledged that the relationship between the two companies is on hold. Without timely resolution, Sprint has indicated a need to pull out of the venture altogether.

Broadband Adoption Rises But Gaps Still Persist

Jesse Ward — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 20:55:45 +0000

According to the new report released today from the Department of Commerce, the United States still faces a significant gap in residential broadband use that breaks down along income lines, education levels and other socio-economic factors, even as subscriptions among American households overall grew sevenfold from 2001 to 2009.

What’s more, the data shows a gap of 10% in broadband use between whites and blacks and a gap of 14% between whites and Hispanics even after controlling for socio-economic factors.

The report, prepared by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Economics and Statistics Administration, is based on a Census survey of about 54,000 households conducted in October 2009.

Among the report’s other major findings:

Between 2001 and 2009, broadband Internet use among households rose from 9% to 64% of American households.
Seven out of ten American households used the Internet in 2009. The majority of these households used broadband to access the Internet at home. Almost one-fourth of all households, however, did not have an Internet user.
65.9% of urban households subscribed to broadband in 2009, compared with 51% of rural households.
94.1% of households with income exceeding $100,000 subscribed to broadband in 2009, compared with 35.8% of households with income of less than $25,000.
84.5% of households with at least one college degree subscribed to broadband last year, compared with 28.8% of households without a high school degree.
77.3% of Asian-American households and 68% of non-Hispanic white households subscribed to broadband last year, compared with 49.4% of African-American households and 47.9% of Hispanic households.

The Census data found that 38% of Americans who don’t have broadband at home say they don’t subscribe because they don’t need it, while 26% say it’s too expensive and only 4% say it’s not available where they live.

Urban residents were more likely than their rural counterparts to adopt broadband Internet, even after accounting for socio-economic differences. Households that use dial-up service cited affordability as the main reason for not adopting broadband at home. For rural residents using dial-up service, lack of broadband availability was reported as a significant factor.

“Americans who lack broadband Internet access are cut off from many educational and employment opportunities,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “The learning from today’s report is that there is no simple ‘one size fits all’ solution to closing the digital divide. A combination of approaches makes sense, including targeted outreach programs to rural and minority populations emphasizing the benefits of broadband.”

“The digital divide is an opportunity divide – if you can’t get online, you can’t compete in the digital economy,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement reacting to the new Commerce Department report. “Connecting America to fast, affordable Internet will create 21st Century jobs that grow our economy and secure our global leadership.”

For more, see this release, or read the report in its entirety.

NTIA and RUS Complete Broadband Stimulus Awards

Jesse Ward — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 16:16:16 +0000

Last week NTIA and RUS announced a handful of new investments as both agencies scrambled to meet the September 30 deadline to award nearly $7 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding. With these awards the government has now formally announced all the winners in the broadband stimulus program.

NTIA awarded $206.8 million in grants to 14 new investments, including two comprehensive community infrastructure awards ,six public computer center awards and six sustainable broadband adoption awards. This follows closely on the heels of a$115.2 million grant to the Maryland Department of Information Technology.

In total, NTIA has invested in 233 Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) projects, mainly middle-mile ventures. Based on estimates provided by grant recipients, the projects will:

fund the installation or upgrade of approximately 120,000 miles of broadband networks, including fiber-optics, wireless, microwave and other technologies
provide broadband access to approximately 24,000 community anchor institutions, including schools, libraries, government offices, health care facilities and public safety entities
deploy middle-mile infrastructure in areas with nearly 40 million households and 4 million businesses
invest in more than 3,500 new or upgraded public computer centers in libraries, schools, community centers and other public locations
invest in more than 35,000 new or upgraded public computer workstations
make public computer center workstations and training available to more than 1 million new users

Also of note, NTIA awarded $190 million to support state efforts to compete in the digital economy. Fifty states, five territories and Washington, D.C., received awards in the State Broadband Data and Development (SBDD) grant program. These state-created efforts vary depending on local needs but include programs to assist small businesses and community institutions in using technology more effectively, research to investigate barriers to broadband adoption, innovative applications that increase access to government services and information, and state and local task forces to expand broadband access and adoption.

For its part, RUS announced four new Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) investments, including awards in the amount of:

$2.63 million to Digital Bridge Corp. to bring 4G service to northern Mississippi
$7.75 million, matched by $148,500 in private contribution, to the Arizona Nevada Tower Corp. to offer a microwave backbone and middle-mile system in southwest Nevada
$791,947, matched by $245,510 in private funding, to The Willard Telephone Co. to offer FTTH in eastern Colorado
$7.3 million, with more than $2.4 million in private investment, to Windstream Corp. to provide digital telephone, high-speed Internet and high-definition video and entertainment services in central Arkansas

By leveraging $2.5 billion in Recovery Act funding authorized by Congress, RUS has been able to provide loans and grants of $3.6 billion to construct 307 broadband infrastructure and satellite projects in 46 states and one territory.

Govt Announces $1 Billion in New Broadband Stimulus Awards

Jesse Ward — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:50:34 +0000

This past Monday was a broadband stimulus bonanza, with the federal government awarding a little more than $1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) grant funding.

RUS announced that $518 million will be invested in 43 new broadband infrastructure projects that will create jobs and provide rural residents in 27 states and Native American tribal areas access to improved Internet service. An additional $34.1 million in private investment also will be committed to the projects.

The largest grant, $66.4 million, was awarded to Lake County in Minnesota for a fiber-the-premises (FTTP) network. Other RUS Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) grants of note:

Pioneer Telephone Cooperative Inc. in Oklahoma received $35.9 million to provide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service to remote areas within its 76 western Oklahoma telephone exchange boundaries.
Windstream Communications was awarded $26 million for three new projects in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
Tri-County Telephone Membership in North Carolina received $14.1 million, matched by more than $2 million in private contribution, to offer broadband using FTTP technology.
Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc. in Minnesota received $16.1 million, matched by $600,000 in private contribution, to build a last-mile FTTH network.
Digital Bridge Communications received $794,000 to provide 4G broadband and VoIP service via fixed and mobile WiMAX technology.

Despite the looming September 30 deadline to announce all the winners in this funding round, many projects are still under review. Digital Bridge submitted 30 projects in this funding round; 29 are still under review. NRTC also submitted 30 projects, all of which are under review and rely on the Digital Bridge wireless network in which NRTC is a part owner. And finally, Qwest’s single application for $348 million to provide service throughout its 14-state territory is still pending.

For its part, NTIA announced 35 new investments, totaling $482.4 million. Twenty-five of the awards went to computing centers and sustainable broadband adoption programs designed to improve access and spur Internet usage and adoption.

However, the majority of the funds, $360.5 million, were awarded to 10 infrastructure projects to construct middle-mile networks. Colorado’s Centennial Board of Cooperative Educational Services received the largest grant totaling $100.6 million, followed closely by the Connecticut Department of Information Technology which received $93.9 million.

Monday’s NTIA and RUS grant awards are part of the second round of ARRA grant announcements, which will continue on a rolling basis and are slated to be completed by September 30, 2010. In total, NTIA has thus far announced 216 grants that benefit communities across the nation. For its part, RUS has awarded $3.6 billion to construct 307 broadband projects in 46 states and one territory.

RUS has a complete list of the projects which were awarded ARRA broadband grants this past Monday. NTIA’s release also has details on the administration’s recent awardees.

New Broadband Stimulus Awards Include Satellite, Public Safety Networks

Jesse Ward — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:31:11 +0000

Yesterday Vice President Biden announced that as part of the second round of broadband funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the government has awarded $1.8 billion to 94 new broadband projects within 37 states.

This announcement includes 66 grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) to deploy broadband and connect community anchor institutions, create and upgrade public computer centers, and encourage the sustainable adoption of broadband service. It also includes 28 awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for broadband infrastructure and satellite projects that will provide rural residents in 16 states and Native American tribal areas access to improved service.

The University of Arkansas received the largest financial award,$102 million, to connect community anchor institutions throughout the state. Other winners include Windstream which received more than $64 million for four new projects; Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership Corp. which received more than $21 million for a FTTH network; and Peoples Telephone Cooperative which was awarded more than $28 million to provide middle-mile broadband service in eastern Texas, connecting 190 community institutions to broadband.

For the first time the stimulus winners include four satellite operators:

Hughes Network Systems received $59 million to offer satellite broadband service to rural residential and commercial subscribers nationwide. Approximately 258,685 people stand to benefit, as do 3,200 businesses.
WildBlue Communications was awarded $20 million to offer satellite broadband service in the West and Midwest United States. Approximately 110,150 people stand to benefit, as do roughly 4,896 businesses.
Spacenet received an $8 million award to offer satellite broadband service to rural residential subscribers in Alaska and Hawaii.
Echostar was awarded $14 million award to offer satellite broadband service to rural residential and commercial subscribers. The funds will provide service to 42,478 people and 1,888 businesses.

Also for the first time, the NTIA awards contain five grants totaling $220 million for the construction of five public safety broadband networks. The public safety awards went to government entities, with the exception of Motorola which received $50 million to build a network in the greater San Francisco Bay area. All of the networks will utilize 4G technology, and meet the FCC’s standards for nationwide interoperability.

Finally, Qwest’s application for $348 million is still pending.

A list of the new projects receiving ARRA broadband grant awards can be viewed online.

Government Awards $795 million in Stimulus Round 2

Jesse Ward — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:45:36 +0000

President Obama announced the first 66 winners in the second funding round of the ARRA broadband stimulus program. The awardees include municipalities, educational institutions and tier 2 and 3 telcos, many of which will fill in fiber “middle mile” gaps in rural communities.

The Obama administration reports that the investment will create 5,000 construction and installation jobs. The release touts these additional benefits:

In total, tens of millions of Americans and over 685,000 businesses, 900 healthcare facilities and 2,400 schools in all fifty states stand to benefit from the awards. The $795 million in grants and loans through the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture have been matched by over $200 million in outside investment, for a total public-private investment of more than $1 billion in bringing broadband service to these communities, most of which currently have little or no access, to help them better compete and do business in the global marketplace.

The awards announced today stem from both agencies administering the broadband stimulus program, the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Services (RUS). The awards will include infrastructure projects and public computing centers.

RUS-funded projects are primarily last-mile projects, and 36 of the 37 announced today include both a grant and loan component. All of the NTIA-funded projects are grant-funded.

For a complete listing of the awardees, see this PDF released by the White House.

NTIA Awards $114 Million to 9 New Projects, First-Round Complete

Jesse Ward — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:19:41 +0000

On April 26, NTIA announced nine recipients of Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants, thus bringing the first-round awards to a close. The investments, totaling more than $114 million in grants, will increase broadband access and adoption in more than a dozen states.

All told, in the first-round NTIA awarded 82 BTOP grants worth $1.2 billion that will expand broadband access and adoption through projects in 45 states and territories.

The agency is now reviewing the second round of applications, which will be announced this summer. NTIA must complete the awards by September 30.

Here is a rundown on the winners announced last week:

Multiple states: One Economy Corp: $28.5 million sustainable broadband adoption grant with an additional $23 million applicant-provided match to implement computer training, wireless Internet access, broadband awareness marketing, and online content and applications to residents of 159 affordable and public housing developments and low-income communities in 50 cities and towns across 31 states and the District of Columbia.
States impacted by this grant: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.

Idaho: Digital Bridge Communications: $1.9 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $466,000 applicant-provided match to bring affordable wireless broadband service to rural, underserved communities in Cassia County, Idaho, including the towns of Albion, Burley, Declo, Malta, and Oakley. The project would expand Digital Bridge Communications’ existing network by adding five towers, 46 miles of new fiber, and a nine-mile microwave link. The project also proposes to offer speeds of up to 3 Mbps using both fixed and mobile wireless technology, as well as directly connect approximately 25 community anchor institutions at no charge.

Idaho: Digital Bridge Communications: $980,000 broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $246,000 applicant-provided match to bring affordable wireless broadband service to rural, underserved communities in Jerome County, Idaho, including the towns of Barrymore, Falls City, Greenwood, Haytown, Hunt, Hydra, Jerome, McHenry, and Sugar Loaf. The project would expand Digital Bridge Communications’ existing network by adding three towers, 15 miles of new fiber, and two microwave links. The expanded network intends to offer speeds up to 3 Mbps using both fixed and mobile wireless technology, as well as directly connect approximately 25 community anchor institutions at no charge.

Idaho: Digital Bridge Communications: $1.4 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $340,000 applicant-provided match to bring affordable wireless broadband service to underserved communities in Twin Falls County, Idaho, including the towns of Buhl, Burger, Clover, Deep Creek, Fairview, Filer, Godwin, and Hansen. The project would expand Digital Bridge Communications’ existing network by adding eight towers, three miles of new fiber, and nine microwave links. This expanded network intends to offer speeds up to 3 Mbps using both fixed and mobile wireless technology, as well as directly connect approximately 25 community anchor institutions at no charge.

Kentucky: City of Williamstown, Kentucky: $535,000 broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $134,000 applicant-provided match to deploy a high-speed fiber-to-the-home broadband network to unserved and underserved communities south of its existing network in Corinth, and north of its existing network to areas of Grant and Owen counties in northern Kentucky. The project intends to offer broadband speeds up to 10 Mbps and directly connect the three municipal organizations within the service area – Corinth City Hall, the Corinth Water District, and the Corinth Volunteer Fire Department – free of charge. In addition, the project expects to offer broadband Internet access for local consumers, including approximately 680 households and 20 businesses, and spur economic growth and job creation in the region.

Oklahoma: Pine Telephone Company, Inc.: $9.5 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $2.4 million applicant-provided match to deliver affordable wireless broadband service to underserved areas of Southeastern Oklahoma, including the Tribal lands of the Choctaw Nation and its 10 counties. The project intends to directly connect 20 community anchor institutions, including Choctaw Nation agencies, public schools, public safety agencies, fire and police departments, and a health clinic. The project’s last mile network plans to offer broadband speeds ranging from 1 Mbps to 3 Mbps to as many as 7,000 households and 75 businesses.

Puerto Rico: Critical Hub Networks, Inc.: $25.8 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $6.7 million applicant-provided match to provide fast, affordable broadband connectivity for last-mile Internet service providers and underserved areas of Puerto Rico, including of the islands of Culebra and Vieques. The project plans to purchase a 10 Gbps undersea fiber-optic cable directly connecting to Miami and deploy more than 180 miles of terrestrial middle-mile microwave network using 11 towers. The network will offer speeds from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps to anchor institutions, including more than 1,500 K-12 schools, and local Internet service providers.

Virginia: Buggs Island Telephone Cooperative: $19 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $5 million applicant-provided match to bring high-speed affordable broadband services to 15 underserved counties and the cities of Emporia and Franklin in South Central Virginia by expanding and enhancing its existing high-speed broadband and voice communications wireless network. The BIT Wireless project intends to offer wireless broadband at speeds of up to 10 Mbps to as many as 100,000 households, 14,800 businesses, and 800 community anchor institutions. In addition, the project will promote broadband adoption by discounting the cost of the equipment necessary to subscribe at home.

Washington: Public Utility District of Pend Oreille County: $27.2 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $6.8 million applicant-provided match to bring high-speed, affordable broadband to underserved areas of Pend Oreille County in northeastern Washington State, which borders Idaho and Canada. The proposed fiber-to-the-premises network would deploy approximately 526 miles of fiber-optic cable to deliver last-mile broadband Internet services and facilitate critical network redundancy in this rural area. The project plans to offer affordable, high-speed broadband access to as many as 3,200 households, 360 businesses, and 24 community anchor institutions.

NTIA Reports $11B in Round 2 Broadband Stimulus Applications

Jesse Ward — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:44:19 +0000

NTIA announced last week that it received 867 applications asking for $11 billion in funding in the second round of the agency’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). This is less than half the 1,770 applications the agency received in the first round.

The drop off might be due to change in rules, which prohibit applicants from filing the same project with both NTIA and RUS.

Applications came in from a diverse range of parties including state, local and tribal governments; nonprofits; industry; anchor institutions, such as libraries, universities, community colleges, and hospitals; public safety organizations; and other entities in rural, suburban and urban areas. When you add in about $4.5 billion in matching funds committed by the applicants, the total is more than $15.5 billion in proposed broadband projects.

“For the second round of BTOP funding, we sharpened our program focus and encouraged applicants to create comprehensive proposals to meet the needs of their communities. We are pleased that a high percentage of applicants appear to have met our priorities and we look forward to reviewing this more targeted pool of applications,” said Lawrence E. Strickling, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator of NTIA. “We will move quickly but carefully to fund the best projects to bring broadband and jobs to more Americans.”

NTIA announced on April 7 a new website, www2.ntia.doc.gov, which the agency is touting as the best source for current information about NTIA’s BTOP program and state broadband mapping.

For its part, RUS has yet to release data points on Round 2 applications for the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). However, several major carriers including Qwest, TDS Telecom and Windstream announced to the public that they filed Round 2 applications.

NTIA Awards $63 Million to 10 Stimulus Projects

Jesse Ward — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:38:01 +0000

NTIA announced March 25 that it has awarded $63 million in Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding to 10 projects. The investments will increase broadband access and adoption in more than a dozen states.

These latest winners applied in Round One in the broadband stimulus program. Both NTIA and RUS had originally planned to select all first round awards by the end of February, and well before the closing of the second round filing window, but they continue to award funds well past the eleventh hour.

The following grants were announced March 25:

Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah – Navajo Tribal Utility Authority: $32.2 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $13.8 million applicant-provided match to bring highspeed affordable broadband services to the Navajo Nation by deploying 550 miles of new aerial fiber-optic cable and 59 new or modified microwave towers covering 15,000 square miles in three states.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Texas – Mission Economic Development Agency: $3.7 million public computer center grant with an additional $2.5 million applicant-provided match to create 12 new public computer centers and expand five existing ones.

Idaho – First Step Internet: $2.4 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $600,000 applicant-provided match to build a regional network of 10 microwave towers to extend high-capacity Internet service.

Illinois – City of Chicago: $7 million sustainable broadband adoption grant with an additional $2.3 million applicant-provided match to spur economic development in five disadvantaged neighborhoods in Chicago with a comprehensive broadband awareness and adoption program.

Minnesota – C.K. Blandin Foundation: $4.9 million sustainable broadband adoption grant with an additional $1.5 million applicant-provided match to launch the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities initiative, a multi-sector, comprehensive approach to sustainable broadband adoption targeting residents, small businesses, local governments, and critical services providers in each of Minnesota’s 80 rural counties.

North Carolina – Fayetteville State University: $1 million public computer center grant with an additional $263,000 applicant-provided match to provide 30 new computer workstations, wireless Internet access, and training courses at a new public computer center for the Fayetteville, North Carolina, community, including residents of local public housing.

Ohio and Pennsylvania – Zito Media Communications: $6.1 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $1.5 million applicant-provided match to create a 382-mile fiber ring with 10 gigabits of capacity through the counties of Geauga, Ashtabula, and Trumbull in Northeastern Ohio, and the counties of Erie, Crawford, and Mercer in Northwestern Pennsylvania. The project plans to deploy 342 miles of new fiber and 40 miles of leased fiber to directly connect an estimated 60 community anchor institutions at speeds from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps, including hospitals, schools, public safety agencies, colleges, and libraries.

Vermont – Vermont Council on Rural Development: $2.5 million sustainable broadband adoption grant with an additional $1.2 million applicant-provided match to increase broadband Internet access and adoption in 24 small, mostly rural communities through a comprehensive effort combining broadband training, access, awareness, and planning.

Virginia – Nelson County of Virginia: $1.8 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $457,000 applicant-provided match to enhance and expand broadband Internet services in areas of rural Nelson County, Virginia by deploying 31 miles of new fiber and four new wireless tower sites, and directly connecting 13 community anchor institutions.

Virginia – Page County Broadband Authority: $1.6 million broadband infrastructure grant with an additional $412,000 applicant-provided match to deploy a 39-mile fiber network that will serve the four principal towns in Page County, Virginia, a rural and underserved area in the Shenandoah region of Western Virginia. The network expects to directly connect 29 anchor institutions including, 11 K-12 schools, three libraries, six healthcare facilities, Lord Fairfax Community College, and eight public safety institutions.

NTIA Awards $160 Million to 23 Stimulus Projects

Jesse Ward — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:36:03 +0000

On March 2, the NTIA announced 23 new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs and improve education and healthcare cross the country.

The grants, totaling more than $160 million, were awarded to projects in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.

The awards includes 10 broadband infrastructure projects, six public computing center initiatives and two sustainable adoption projects.

Of particular note, Level 3 Communications won a total of $14 million in grants to add 47 new access points to its existing broadband network in six states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas. Those access points will be open to local Internet service providers at speeds of 50 Mbps – 40 Gbps.

The nine additional broadband infrastructure award recipients included:

Columbia County Information Technology Department – $13.5 million for a fiber network in Georgia
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois – $22.5 million for a fiber network
Educational Networks of America – $14.3 million to deploy fiber in Indiana
Open Cape Corporation – $32 million to deploy fiber and microwave broadband in Massachusetts
Lane Council of Government- $8.3 million to enhance an existing fiber network and deploy 124 miles of additional fiber in Oregon
Iniciativa Tecnolegica Centro Oriental – $12.9 million to deploy a wireless and fiber network in Puerto Rico
DeltaCom – $9.5 million to provide a fiber network in Tennessee
Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System – $5.1 million to deploy fiber
Hardy Telecommunications – $3.2 million to build a fiber network in West Virginia

NTIA has more.