[1st-mile-nm] NM Supplemental Broadband Mapping and Planning Award

[Richard Lowenberg]

Congratulations to the NM Department of Information Technology (DoIT),  
which was just awarded $2,876,905 from the NTIA towards supplemental  
Broadband Mapping and Development activities.

www.ntia.doc.gov/press/2010/BTOP_SBDD_09272010.html



IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 27, 2010

News Media Contact:
Moira Vahey, (202) 482-0147, mvahey at ntia.doc.gov


COMMERCE’S NTIA ANNOUNCES FINAL RECOVERY ACT INVESTMENTS FOR STATE- 
DRIVEN BROADBAND ACTIVITIES

WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications  
and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced 56 investments  
totaling $190 million to support state efforts to compete in the  
digital economy. These are the final awards in the State Broadband  
Data and Development (SBDD) grant program, funded by the American  
Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“As Congress recognized, many communities are being left behind in the  
21st Century economy and need improved broadband access and adoption  
to compete,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and  
Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “Each state  
has unique broadband challenges, and these investments will support  
solutions developed by the states to harness the power of technology  
so that local businesses can thrive and residents can enjoy a better  
quality of life.”

The 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia will use  
this funding to support the efficient and creative use of broadband  
technology to improve their economies. 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.

As examples of these diverse state-driven projects:

Massachusetts will provide technical assistance to small businesses  
and non-profit organizations to help them improve operations through  
broadband and technology use.

Pennsylvania plans to research barriers to the use of broadband by  
manufacturers and to examine the impact of broadband use on the  
competiveness of this sector.

In Florida, technology teams will provide hardware and network  
assessments to public libraries, enabling them to provide faster and  
more reliable Internet service to the public.

Arkansas plans to expand online county government services,  
particularly in rural communities, allowing residents to access these  
services from their homes.

Colorado plans to organize a state-wide broadband task force to  
promote the growth of distance learning and to implement and assess  
the impact of several pilot projects.

North Carolina will leverage years of experience to expand its  
broadband planning teams into more communities, driving broadband- and  
technology-based economic development.

Launched in 2009, NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development grant  
program implements the joint purposes of the Recovery Act and the  
Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA), which envisioned a  
comprehensive program, led by state entities or non-profit  
organizations working at their direction, to facilitate the  
integration of broadband and information technology into state and  
local economies. Economic development, energy efficiency, and advances  
in education and health care rely not only on broadband  
infrastructure, but also on the knowledge and tools to leverage that  
infrastructure.

Since accurate data is critical for broadband planning, another  
purpose of the grant program is to assist states in gathering data  
twice a year on the availability, speed, and location of broadband  
services, as well as the broadband services that community  
institutions, such as schools, libraries and hospitals, use. This data  
will be used by NTIA to update a searchable, interactive national  
broadband map once it is completed by the agency by February 17, 2011.  
NTIA originally funded state data collection and validation efforts  
for a two-year period; with today’s announcement, grantees will be  
able to continue these efforts for an additional three years.

The Recovery Act provided up to $350 million for implementation of the  
BDIA and to develop and maintain the national broadband map. All 56  
states, territories, and the District of Columbia (or their designated  
entities) were eligible for funding through the SBDD grant program to  
support these goals. NTIA previously awarded funding to 54 of the  
entities for initial activities. When combined with today’s  
announcement, NTIA has awarded a total of $293 million in grants among  
all 56 eligible entities.

(See NTIA web site announcement for complete list of states and  
funding amounts.  RL  )


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Richard Lowenberg
P. O. Box 8001,  Santa Fe, NM  87504
505-989-9110 off.; 505-603-5200 cell
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