Panelists:
Mark Shlanta, CEO, SDN Communications
Joe Freddoso, President and Chief Executive, MCNC
Susan Walters, Senior Vice President, California Emerging Technology Fund
Bill Callahan, Connect Your Community Project Director, OneCommunity
Andrew Buss, Director of Public Programs, Office of Innovation & Technology, City of Philadelphia
Anthony Wilhelm, NTIA, Department of Commerce (moderator)

AUDIO

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included $7.2 billion to expand access to high-speed Internet services to close the digital divide, drive economic growth, and build the technology infrastructure and skills that America needs to compete in the 21st Century. Nearly $4 billion of that total supports the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, or BTOP, a program administered by the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that is investing in roughly 230 projects to increase broadband access and adoption around the country.

BTOP's infrastructure projects, totaling $3.5 billion in federal grants, are constructing networks in places not adequately served by existing systems in order to supply high-capacity connections to schools, hospitals and other vital anchor institutions that need more bandwidth. These projects are also spurring private-sector investment and expanding broadband availability for homes and businesses since local Internet providers can connect to these critical new "middle mile" facilities to expand their own networks. BTOP's public computer center projects, totaling $200 million in federal grants, are providing broadband access for job seekers and others who want to go online but lack the resources at home. And BTOP's sustainable broadband adoption projects, totaling $250 million in federal grants, are teaching digital literacy skills and providing online job training to people at risk of being left behind in the information-age economy. This panel will be moderated by Anthony Wilhelm, who directs the BTOP program for NTIA, and will feature speakers from five BTOP projects across the US:

Mark Shlanta, CEO, SDN Communications

SDN Communications, a partnership of 27 independent telecom providers covering 80 percent of South Dakota, is using a Recovery Act grant to expand its 1,850-mile, 300-gigabit-per-second fiber-optic network by another 360 miles and add an additional 100 gigabits of bandwidth along high-capacity routes. The project will enable SDN to deliver broadband speeds of at least 10 megabits per second to 300 anchor institutions that will be added to the network, including schools, libraries, hospitals, clinics, public safety agencies, government buildings and National Guard facilities. It will also deliver faster connections to more than 220 anchor institutions already on the system. The new network is already producing construction, engineering and electrician jobs around the state. It will also bring online classes to small rural schools that want to round out their curricula, deliver advanced medical care to remote communities located far from big hospitals and make it possible for government offices across South Dakota to provide services to citizens more efficiently over the Internet. One institution that will get faster connections is the Telecommunications Lab at the Mitchell Technical Institute in Mitchell, S.D., which prepares students for careers in the telecom industry and is training workers to operate broadband networks such as those being built with BTOP funds.

Joe Freddoso, President and Chief Executive, MCNC

MCNC, a nonprofit broadband provider that has operated the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) for more than 25 years, is using Recovery Act funds to deploy or upgrade 2,600 miles of fiber in rural areas across the state. The network will initially deliver speeds of 10 gigabits per second and will eventually scale to a 100-gigabit-per-second middle-mile network. It will extend the reach of the existing NCREN system to connect nearly 2,700 additional anchor institutions, including libraries, hospitals and public safety facilities. The new network will also deliver faster and more reliable connections to K-12 schools, colleges and universities already on NCREN. MCNC's project is already creating construction jobs and jobs for local vendors such as CommScope in Hickory, N.C., which is supplying fiber and other materials. It is also laying the groundwork for economic revitalization in places such as Kannapolis, N.C., a former textile mill town that is reinventing itself as a biotechnology and life sciences hub.

Susan Walters, Senior Vice President, California Emerging Technology Fund

The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), a non-profit established at the direction of the California Public Utilities Commission to help close the state's digital divide, is using a Recovery Act investment to provide computer, digital literacy and workforce training for low-income communities and other vulnerable populations. CETF works through 19 partners statewide, including non-profits that offer job training and career development services for the unemployed and homeless. Two of those organizations, Chrysalis in Southern California and The Stride Center in Northern California, are using Recovery Act funding to train clients in information technology skills and place graduates in IT positions. CETF also works with partners such as the Chicana Latina Foundation and Youth Radio, to raise awareness of the importance of broadband and ensure its programs serve California's diverse population - from Hispanic farm workers in the Central Valley to seniors in San Francisco's Chinatown. Classes are offered in Spanish, Chinese and other languages.

Bill Callahan, Connect Your Community Project Director, OneCommunity

OneCommunity, a non-profit broadband provider in Northeast Ohio, is using Recovery Act funding to expand innovative broadband adoption work it is doing in Cleveland and replicate the program in seven other communities. The Connect Your Community (CYC) project provides computer classes and broadband training, as well as low-cost equipment and help finding affordable Internet access, to get low-income households online. One key to the program is the CYC Corps, a team of staffers hired in each community to teach computer and Internet basics to others, who are using those skills to look for jobs or even start their own businesses online. Working with eight local partners, OneCommunity is on track to produce 26,000 new broadband adopters in Cleveland, Akron, Lorain County and Central Appalachian, Ohio; Detroit, MI; Winston-Salem, NC; Lexington, KY; and Manatee County, FL. (OneCommunity has also received a $44.8 million Recovery Act award to upgrade and expand its fiber-optic network, which connects anchor institutions in Northeast Ohio).

Andrew Buss, Director of Public Programs, Office of Innovation & Technology, City of Philadelphia

The City of Philadelphia is using a Recovery Act award to open or expand 77 computer centers in health and social service agencies, homeless shelters, affordable housing locations and recreation centers in low-income communities across the city. The project, led by Philadelphia's Office of Innovation & Technology, gives the city's most vulnerable residents access to everything from job postings to health information to educational resources on the Internet. It is part of a broader program called KEYSPOT, Powered by Freedom Rings Partnership. The partnership is a coalition of more than a dozen city agencies, grass-roots organizations and universities working to increase broadband adoption rates and produce more home Internet subscribers in Philadelphia. Another lead agency in the partnership, the Urban Affairs Coalition, is using a separate Recovery Act grant to teach digital literacy skills and provide workforce training in KEYSPOT computer centers. Working together, the two projects are providing online access, instruction and support to help all Philadelphia residents participate in today's wired society and compete in the digital economy.