Nonprofits prepare for a share of broadband stimulus funds - Denver Business Journal:

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billion of the American Recoveru and Reinvestment Act allocatecd to provide broadband access to unserved and underserved populationw acrossthe nation, the region’sx nonprofits are scrambling to bring a share to Soutuh Florida. Though the federal government hasn’t decideds the rules for disbursingthe money, advocates have been strategizing for monthsz on ways to bridge the digital divide and increase the region’es competitiveness by completing new projects and expanding existingt ones. But, getting South Florida fully wired won’ft be easy.
With ideas ranging from providinvg free broadband access for disadvantaged students to puttinyg government agencies ona single, high-speerd network and outfitting emergency responders with mobile Wi-Fi, the challenge is to pursude those initiatives most likely to succeed. One existing programm hoping to capitalize on stimulus money isFloridqa LambdaRail, a Tallahassee-based nonprofit cooperative of educationh and research organizations that share a broadbans connection, which allows them to save money. , , , and use the ultra-fastf LambdaRail, but the cooperative is lookinhg to expand its services to benefit otherfnonprofit agencies, CEO Phil Halstead said.
Ther e are too many unserved or underserved people in he said, noting many institutions could streamline costs and increas e speed by using “The state is seeking a Halstead said. “We’re trying to create an Eisenhower interstatde systemfor broadband.” To that end, LambdaRail is to host a “broadbandd summit” at FAU on June 16. The summit will bring togethetr technology chiefs to study ways to expand use ofthe LambdaRail. Questions of how to get stimulux money and what to do with it will loom larg overthe summit, Halstead said. The $7.2 billion up for grabw for broadband will be split betweebthe U.S. ($4.7 billion) and the ($2.5 said Linda Fuchs, Gov.
Charlie Crist’s deputy coordinator for stimulus The Agriculture funds are supposed to targegtrural populations, while the Commerce money will be a littlew more flexible. Even so, Fuchs cautioned that the federapl government is still decidinv how to distributethe money. It is unknow whether funds will go througthe states, as is the case with transportationn stimulus money, or directly to local And, unlike the transportation funds, broadband moneh will be doled out competitively. In otheer words, South Florida may not see a Fuchs said. To maximize their each county has a nonprofit agencymakingv plans.
The Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition developed a workinhg proposalin December, said Kim Marcille, chairwoman of the coalition’se interim executive committee. There was abourt $200 million worth of need she said. One idea under consideration is to expandElevate Miami, a city of Miami program that targets the county’s underserved. Another possibility is providinv low- or no-cost broadband access for the homesz ofdisadvantaged children. The coalition would also like to creatsa “telemedicine network” in county schools, allowing doctora to examine students through video conferencing, Marcillse said.
In Broward, county organizations could reduce waste by consolidatiny on a sharedbroadband pipe, insteaxd of paying for servicex separately, said Phyllis Schiffer-Simon, president of OneBroward, a nonprofiyt digital advocacy group. “We’d be creatinh our own network.” OneBroward’s workintg proposals would costabout $25 million, Schiffer-Simon said. Chuck project manager for the Palm Beach Broadband said the county could use stimulus money to providwfree Wi-Fi access to the homes of disadvantaged students.
Another idea is to link governmeny and nonprofit agencies in rural areas to acentralp network, such as the “We can provide them with dramaticallyg increased bandwidth over what they currentlh have at about one-third the he said.