Connect Ohio awarded $6.9 million in Recovery Act funding to advance sustainable broadband adoption throughout the state
Connect Ohio’s Public Adoption Through Libraries/Every Community Online Adoption Project has been awarded $6.9 million in federal funding in an effort to increase sustainable broadband adoption for over 200,000 state residents. The program offers free computer training sessions provided at public libraries and community colleges
throughout Ohio and will introduce new users to a wide range of communication, education, and healthcare tools available online.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) matching grant is awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure,
enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.
The overall project cost is just under $10 million. Connect Ohio’s two-year program provides the necessary equipment, training, technical support, and public awareness components to create publicly accessible training sessions in Ohio’s public libraries and community colleges, educate new computer users and help them take advantage of the powerful social and economic tools available through high-speed Internet service.
“This project will provide more than 200,000 Ohioans with free hands-on computer training to prepare them for a technologically-driven society,” Connect Ohio Executive Director Tom Fritz said. “Currently, just 66% of Ohio households subscribe to broadband service, leaving more than three million Ohioans on the wrong side of the digital divide.”
Connect Ohio will be facilitating the $6.9 million grant as an extension of its
ongoing work to expand broadband. The $10 million program is enabled not only by the federal grant, but also through more than $3 million in assistance and contributions from a number of primarily non-profit partners, including The Ohio Public Television Stations, Ohio Public Radio, The Ohio Association of Broadcasters, State Library of Ohio, the Ohio Public Library Information Network, 202 local library systems, and more than 530 individual branches. Columbus State Community College, Central Ohio Technical College, Sinclair Community College, Rio Grande Community College, and Belmont Technical College are some of the educational partners committed across the state.
throughout Ohio and will introduce new users to a wide range of communication, education, and healthcare tools available online.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) matching grant is awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure,
enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.
The overall project cost is just under $10 million. Connect Ohio’s two-year program provides the necessary equipment, training, technical support, and public awareness components to create publicly accessible training sessions in Ohio’s public libraries and community colleges, educate new computer users and help them take advantage of the powerful social and economic tools available through high-speed Internet service.
“This project will provide more than 200,000 Ohioans with free hands-on computer training to prepare them for a technologically-driven society,” Connect Ohio Executive Director Tom Fritz said. “Currently, just 66% of Ohio households subscribe to broadband service, leaving more than three million Ohioans on the wrong side of the digital divide.”
Connect Ohio will be facilitating the $6.9 million grant as an extension of its
ongoing work to expand broadband. The $10 million program is enabled not only by the federal grant, but also through more than $3 million in assistance and contributions from a number of primarily non-profit partners, including The Ohio Public Television Stations, Ohio Public Radio, The Ohio Association of Broadcasters, State Library of Ohio, the Ohio Public Library Information Network, 202 local library systems, and more than 530 individual branches. Columbus State Community College, Central Ohio Technical College, Sinclair Community College, Rio Grande Community College, and Belmont Technical College are some of the educational partners committed across the state.
posted by Connect Ohio at
10:59 AM
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