Commerce Department Awards Grant for Broadband Mapping and Planning in Georgia
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 |
Contact: Office of Communications 404-651-7774, Jessica Schafer 202-482-5670 or press@ntia.doc.gov
|
“New broadband access means more capacity and better reliability for telecommunication services,” said Governor Perdue. “Creating an advanced network promotes economic development, expands educational opportunities and improves the availability and efficiency of government services.”
Other grant recipients are
Broadband mapping and data collection for
- Better fact based decision making by state government such as public policy and programs
- Enable quality investment decisions by public and private sector anchor institutions
- Increase citizen knowledge on service provider offerings
- Identification of unserved and underserved areas to target new and expanded service offerings.
With the federal award for the North Georgia Network project last week and with this award today,
Governor Perdue has been a strong advocate for
NTIA received applications representing all 50 states, 5 territories, and the
“Congress rightly recognized that increasing broadband access and adoption in communities being left behind in the 21st Century economy depends on better data collection and broadband planning. Our goal is to carry out this initiative on schedule and at the lowest cost necessary to do the job right,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “We’ve now awarded more than half the grants and will continue to work with remaining applicants so they can bring the benefits of broadband to more of their citizens.”
The award of approximately $1.7 million goes to the Georgia Technology Authority for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period and nearly $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a two-year period in
NTIA carefully evaluates each application to determine whether the applicant directly represents the interests of the state. This state-applicant connection is especially critical in the context of the broadband planning activities that NTIA considers the responsibility of the state. The States of Illinois,
Awardees will collect and verify the availability, speed, and location of broadband across the state. This activity is to be conducted on a semi-annual basis between 2009 and 2011, with the data to be presented in a clear and accessible format to the public, government, and the research community.
The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program is a matching grant program that implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). The program will provide grants to assist states or their designees in gathering and verifying state-specific data on the availability, speed, location, and technology type of broadband services. The data they collect and compile will also be used to develop publicly available state-wide broadband maps and to inform the comprehensive, interactive, and searchable national broadband map that NTIA is required by the Recovery Act to create and make publicly available by February 17, 2011.
The national broadband map will publicly display the geographic areas where broadband service is available; the technology used to provide the service; the speeds of the service; and broadband service availability at public schools, libraries, hospitals, colleges, universities, and public buildings. The national map will also be searchable by address and show the broadband providers offering service in the corresponding census block or street segment.
Awardees are required to contribute at least 20 percent non-federal matching funds toward project costs. In addition, while the BDIA mandates that each state may designate only one eligible entity to receive funds under the program, each state's applicant will be carefully evaluated and must meet the standards described in NTIA's Notice of Funds Availability for this program in order to receive funding.
U.S. Department of Commerce's NTIA serves as the executive branch agency principally responsible for advising the President on communications and information policy. For more information about the NTIA, visit www.ntia.doc.gov.
# # #