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.…

The Rural Utilities Service has issued a handy application guide and a set of templates for people who are seeking broadband stimulus funds under Round 2 of the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP). The application guide walks you through the requirements for funding and the templates give you a ready-made set of documents ranging such as subscriber projections, investment workbooks, certifications, etc. This is such a great service to applicants! Is there a BTOP equivalent?

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Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) Round 2…

Boingo Wireless announced it has signed an exclusive deal with global airport company BAA to be the sole provider of retail Wi-Fi services at six major airports in the United Kingdom. The airports to be powered by Boingo include London Heathrow (LHR), London Stansted (STN), Glasgow (GLA), Edinburgh (EDI), Aberdeen (ABZ), and Southampton (SOU). Wi-Fi services were previously provided in parallel by multiple operators, including Boingo.

In conjunction with the contract award, Boingo will open an office in London to service…

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…