MCNC applies for broadband recovery funding to improve access to health services

Sep 4 2009

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue today announced that MCNC has applied to receive $28.1 million in broadband recovery funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support fiber acquisition for the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) in North Carolina.

MCNC's application, submitted on Aug. 17 (prior to the Aug. 20 filing deadline) was coordinated through the N. C. Office of Economic Recovery & Investment and endorsed by the entire North Carolina delegation to the United States Congress.

The application is part of a coordinated strategy to improve broadband access for businesses and residents in underserved areas and enhance feasibility of Health Internet Technology (HIT) initiatives across the state, resulting in improved access to health services.

MCNC is an independent, non-profit organization employing advanced networking technologies and systems to continuously improve learning and collaboration throughout North Carolina's K-20 education community. MCNC operates NCREN, one of the nation's first statewide education and research networks. NCREN provides broadband communications technology services and support to North Carolina's K-12 school districts, higher education campuses and academic research institutions, with an equitable educational experience across the state as its goal.

"NCREN is of great importance to public education in North Carolina, serving over two million students across the state with vital broadband access," said Gov. Perdue. "This proposal allows North Carolina to leverage the existing NCREN to create more robust access for our schools, libraries and public health facilities, while also reaching our underserved citizens."

If approved, MCNC plans to use the economic recovery funds to build a network of more than 600 miles of new middle-mile fiber, an essential element in North Carolina's plans to reach citizens and community anchor institutions (schools, community colleges, other institutions of higher education, and community support organizations) who currently have limited broadband access. Underserved citizens will be reached through commercial telecommunications and cable providers with whom MCNC has formed partnerships.

The middle-mile is the sector of the network that connects last-mile facilities such as telecom company local interconnection points (central offices) with the commercial Internet and with national and global advanced research networks.

The network has the potential to serve more than 1,500 anchor institutions, 180,000 businesses, and more than 300,000 underserved families. In addition, the MCNC application has been coordinated closely with other applications for federal economic recovery funds in North Carolina, including those in the areas of health care and education.

MCNC's application for ARRA recovery funds was tendered to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Broadband Initiatives Program. The BTOP program requires a 20-percent funding match on the part of the applicant.

MCNC raised the matching funds for its application through private sources, thus no state funds are required in the MCNC application. The design, construction, and operation of the network are estimated to have the potential to create more than 230 engineering/construction jobs.

Source: http://www.mcnc.org