Community Area Networks/Broadband

As some of you aware, the federal government will be spending about $7.2 billion shortly to provide grants and loans to areas that are unserved or underserved by broadband. $3.75 billion in grants is currently available via the National Telecom & Information Agency. Many groups and individuals in Wisconsin are scurrying to meet the very short deadlines. One initiative titled "Go Gig" here in Wisconsin will be focusing on constructing the "middle mile" fiber in the first wave of funding. However, phase 2 grant proposals (later this year), and phase 3 (2010) will focus on the building of some pilot Community Area Networks (CAN). CAN's could best be described as coordinated regional communication infrastructure which promotes innovation, competition and economic viability. A community could be defined as a city, County, region, or some other geographic region.

I am interested in hearing from our County CNRED faculty and staff about your knowledge of local discussions regarding CAN's or simply the provision of broadband services. If you have been involved in these efforts, I would also like to learn more about how you have been involved. Some CAN discussions have already taken place in Platteville, Kenosha, Eau Claire, River Falls, Superior, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Wausau, Stevens Point, La Crosse, Madison, Janesville, Whitewater, and Milwaukee. Obviously, many of these communities would be viewed as being served by broadband, but one doesn't have to venture far outside of these cities to reach underserved areas. But, I am also interested in hearing about communities that are far more remote than these that have had serious discussion about how they might pool resources to create CAN's. These are the kind of communities that would be well positioned to be written in to these grants.

So here is your chance to inform me of your local initiatives. For more information on "Go Gig", see: http://wire.wiscnet.net/go-gig-broadband-stimulus-information/

Andy