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Bridging the Digital Divide |
Dear MBI Stakeholders: We would like to share some exciting news about a critical milestone for the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) in its effort to secure federal funding. With a continued focus on expanding affordable, high-speed Internet, Governor Deval Patrick submitted this morning a letter indicating his enthusiastic support for the MBI's federal stimulus application, MassBroadband 123, highlighting the project as his highest priority to be funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which administers BTOP, requested input from the executives of all US states and territories to fulfill the state consultation requirement included in the Act. In response, Governor Patrick has indicated to the NTIA that MassBroadband 123 will greatly benefit the state by improving economic development, education and healthcare, and strengthening public safety. The project's middle-mile infrastructure will address the critical need for broadband in western Massachusetts by building an essential foundation to connect residents, businesses, and community anchor institutions. This week, Senator John Kerry announced his support for connecting small businesses to broadband, specifically identifying MassBroadband 123's potential to provide numerous benefits to small businesses in western Massachusetts. Senator Kerry, a senior member and former Chairman of the Small Business Committee spoke at the hearing, "Connecting Main Street to the World: Federal Efforts to Expand Small Business Internet Access." The MassBroadband 123 application, and others submitted from Massachusetts and across the nation, must still be evaluated by the NTIA. As in Round One, this will be a highly competitive process. We believe we have put forth a strong application that meets the guidelines set forth by the NTIA and look forward to discussing the merits of the proposal with the NTIA when the application is moved into due diligence review. The review schedule calls for the NTIA to announce Round Two awards on a rolling basis beginning in June 2010, with all awards being announced by September 30, 2010. MBI Application Details: In March 2010, the MBI submitted an application for $45.4 million in federal stimulus funding under Round Two of BTOP. Through the leadership of the Patrick-Murray Administration and the Massachusetts Legislature, the Commonwealth is providing $26.2 million in matching funds to bring the total investment in the proposed project to $71.6 million. The application—named MassBroadband 123—will create a robust fiber-optic network that connects 123 communities in the western part of the state. MassBroadband 123 will build an essential foundation for connecting residents, creating new economic opportunities, improving education and healthcare, and strengthening public safety. MassBroadband 123 will build more than 1,100 new miles of fiber-optic cable to connect homes and businesses, as well as community anchor institutions, including community colleges, public safety institutions, hospitals and libraries in a proposed service area covering over one-third of Massachusetts. The broadband network will also contain 55 miles of fiber-optic cable currently being pulled along I-91 through the MBI's partnership with MassDOT. This project is an important component of the MassBroadband 123 network and was recently cited in the FCC's National Broadband Plan as a model for other states. The network will provide a publicly owned, open access, middle-mile backbone infrastructure, which enables last-mile service providers to connect to the middle-mile infrastructure and bring broadband services to households and businesses. The middle-mile backbone will place fiber as close to population and business centers as possible, providing sufficient fiber for last-mile providers to use along their entire routes, enabling connection at virtually any point of the network. The MBI developed the network proposal through a strong partnership with the state's Information Technology Division and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The agencies are committing a total of $6.2 million to help build the network, and they provided significant expertise that has strengthened the application in areas of critical importance to the NTIA. For more information on the Massachusetts application for federal funding, please visit www.massbroadband.org.
Massachusetts Broadband Institute is a division of MTC |
