On Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced seven new state recipients of the state broadband data and development grant program. These grants fund state efforts to map broadband availability and speeds in all 50 states, 5 territories, and the District of Columbia.
The first eight grants under this program were announced last month and the agency expects to continue announcing awards on a rolling basis throughout the fall. Each state was asked to pick a designated entity – either a state body or a non-profit organization – that would develop a plan for how broadband mapping would be conducted.
Two states choose to have state agencies control the mapping, while the other five designated outside contractors.
- In Alabama, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs was tasked. They received $1.4 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities and $463,000 for broadband planning activities both for over a two- year period.
- In Washington State, the Department of Information Services received $1.7 million for data collection and mapping and almost $500,000 for broadband planning activities both for over a two-year period.
- Wyoming and Idaho choose to contract their mapping to the Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology, a Seattle based non-profit. Wyoming received $1.3 million for data collection and mapping over a two-year period and $500,000 for broadband planning activities over a three-year period. Idaho also received $1.3 million for broadband data collection and mapping activities over a two-year period. It received only $492,000 for broadband planning activities over a three-year period.
- Maryland, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin each designated state-related but independent organizations.
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.
