New York

Universal Broadband Grants for New York announced

Posted on by joly

New York State Council for Universal BroadbandMar 19: New York Governor David A. Paterson announced that nine public/private sector partnerships will be the first recipients of grants from the New York State Council for Universal Broadband. The funds are targeted to help promote the research, design and implementation of innovative solutions to create affordable broadband Internet access for underserved urban and rural communities throughout the state.

Amongst the recipients were an initiative to bring broadband over power lines (BPL) to Onondaga County and a program to bring a year’s free access to residents of the Mount Hope community housing project in the Bronx. Continue reading →

Albany: Spitzer Names Broadband Panel

Posted on by joly

Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced the formation yesterday of a state panel to develop strategies to allow all New Yorkers to get access to high-speed Internet service. The panel, the New York State Council for Universal Broadband, will recommend ways to extend high-speed access beyond traditional methods and to extend broadband connections to underserved rural and urban areas, the governor said.

In his speech, Spitzer set targets: affordable universal access @ 20Mbps statewide, with 100Mbps in metro areas, by 2015.

One of the Council’s first actions will be to distribute $5 million in grants. Continue reading →