MuniWireless

The NTIA has awarded $5.9 million to the South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education. Its S.C. “Reach for Success” project proposes to expand the capacity of 51 public computer centers and create 19 new computer labs at the South Carolina Technical College System’s 16 member colleges. The college system is the state’s largest higher education system, with 114,000 degree-seeking students and 128,000 continuing education students. Of these students, almost half receive federal Pell Grant assistance and 37…

The NTIA awarded $1.2 million to Rhode Island to expand broadband Internet access at 71 public libraries across the state. The grant is part of BTOP Round 1 funding for public computer centers. The NTIA has set aside $150 million more in Round 2 for public computer centers.

The grant will go to OSHEAN Inc., a consortium of not-for-profit organizations, which will use the funding to replace 327 existing computers and add more than 403 new workstations in Rhode Island libraries.…

Now here’s a very interesting use of Twitter if you are a cafe and want to get new visitors. Jaunted reports that they were Twitter-stalked by a Belgian cafe in Bruges. When Jaunted announced via Twitter that they were in Bruges, the cafe sent out a message: “enjoy Bruges – why not stop at our American coffee house? located at Genthof 5 (at Van Eyckplein).” Funny. It’s a good way for a cafe to advertise that they have free Wi-Fi.

Please…

MuniWireless has published a guide for people applying for broadband grants under Round 2 of the NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). NTIA and RUS, the agencies running the BTOP and BIP programs respectively, revised their rules for round 2 based upon the experiences in round 1. People whose applications were rejected in round 1 are encouraged to apply again. Main changes in the NTIA’s Round 2: emphasis on Middle Mile projects centered around community anchor institutions such as community…

When we talk about broadband stimulus funds, we tend to focus on infrastructure: fiber, wireless, and the computers themselves (in public computer centers which are getting federal funds, too). Indeed, the US government’s primary goal in giving out billions of dollars to bring broadband to unserved and underserved communities is to allow people who live in remote areas to participate in the online conversations that are taking place around the world. Very soon living in a rural area does not…

After months of rumor and speculation, Apple has launched a tablet computer called the iPad, which looks like a larger version of the iPod Touch and the iPhone. I watched the demo today and came away impressed. It looks gorgeous. The price is reasonable, starting at $499 for the Wi-Fi only version ($629 for the 3G + Wi-Fi model). At around $500, having an awesome portable computer just got a lot more affordable for everyone. The digital divide is shrinking…