Great news from D.C.: the government is doing the right thing with broadband mapping.
The grants announced today go to entities in four states, California, Indiana, Vermont, and North Carolina.
The NTIA said that each of the successful applications showed that the state and the agencies were working together, were going to provide verifiable data and not just rely on the telcos for self-reporting, and had resources equal to one-quarter of the grant money received, in an 80/20 grant/cash match.
Winners:
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC): $2.3 million over five years.
Indiana Office of Technology (IOT): $1.3 million
e-NC (of North Carolina): $2 million over five years
Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI): $1.2 million
This news should dispel fears that Connected Nation would be eligible — according to reports, data produced by Connected Nation is under the copyright of AT&T.
Yet Connected Nation has been chosen by several states, including Florida and Minnesota, to be the sole applicant for mapping funds.
I’m looking forward to this fight. I expect that those states that chose Connected Nation will have to choose again because they’ll have to choose a data provider that will deliver accurate and public data, something Connected Nation is bound by contract to fail to provide.