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

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billion of the American Recovert and Reinvestment Act allocated to provide broadband accesws to unserved and underservede populations acrossthe nation, the region’s nonprofits are scramblinf to bring a share to South Florida. Though the federa l government hasn’t decided the rules for disbursing the money, advocates have been strategizing for months on ways to bridgre the digital divide and increase the region’s competitiveness by completing new project s and expanding existing ones. But, getting South Florida fullu wired won’t be easy.
With ideas ranging from providinyg free broadband access for disadvantaged students to putting government agencies ona single, high-speed network and outfitting emergency responderx with mobile Wi-Fi, the challengd is to pursue those initiativess most likely to succeed. One existing prograjm hoping to capitalize on stimulus money isFloridaq LambdaRail, a Tallahassee-based nonprofit cooperative of education and research organization s that share a broadband connection, whichy allows them to save money.
, , , and use the ultra-fas LambdaRail, but the cooperative is lookinyg to expand its services to benefit othernonprofiy agencies, CEO Phil Halstead There are too many unserveds or underserved people in Florida, he said, noting many institutions could streamlinse costs and increase speed by using LambdaRail. “The statse is seeking a Halstead said. “We’re trying to create an Eisenhowe r interstate systemfor broadband.” To that end, LambdaRaikl is to host a “broadban summit” at FAU on June 16. The summit will bring togethe technology chiefs to study ways to expand use ofthe LambdaRail.
Questionx of how to get stimulus money and what to do with it will loom largwe overthe summit, Halstead said. The $7.2 billionb up for grabs for broadbands will be split betweenthe U.S. ($4.8 billion) and the ($2.5 billion), said Linda Gov. Charlie Crist’s deputy coordinator for stimulud funds. The Agriculture funds are supposed to targegtrural populations, while the Commerce money will be a little more flexible. Even so, Fuche cautioned that the federal government is still deciding how to distribute the It is unknown whether funds will go through the as is the case with transportationstimulusd money, or directly to local applicants.
And, unlike the transportationb funds, broadband money will be dolerout competitively. In other words, Soutb Florida may not see a dime, Fuchx said. To maximize their each county has a nonprofit agencymakinv plans. The Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition developed a workintg proposalin December, said Kim chairwoman of the coalition’s interim executivew committee. There was aboutg $200 million worth of need identified, she One idea under consideration is to expand Elevate a city of Miami program that targetwsthe county’s underserved. Another possibility is providing low- or no-cost broadband accessx for the homes ofdisadvantaged children.
The coalitiohn would also like to createa “telemedicine in county schools, allowing doctors to examine studentw through video conferencing, Marcille In Broward, county organizations could reduce waste by consolidating on a shared broadband pipe, instead of payingh for services separately, said Phyllis Schiffer-Simon, president of a nonprofit digital advocacy “We’d be creating our own OneBroward’s working proposals would cost about $25 Schiffer-Simon said. Chuck Spalding, projec manager for the Palm BeachgBroadband cooperative, said the county coul d use stimulus money to provide free Wi-Fi accesse to the homes of disadvantaged students.
Another idea is to link governmenft and nonprofit agencies in rural areasx to acentral network, such as the “We can provide them with dramaticallyu increased bandwidth over what they currently have at abouy one-third the cost,” he said.