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ENA Receives $14.3 Million Broadband Connectivity Grant for Schools and Libraries Throughout IndianaNASHVILLE, Tenn. --(Business Wire)-- Education Networks of America (ENA (News - Alert)), one of the nation's leading providers of managed Internet access and network services to schools and libraries, has been awarded a $14.3 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to build broadband infrastructure in Indiana to enable improved education, training and connectivity access opportunities for 145 of Indiana's underserved schools and libraries. The grant is made possible by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The project includes an additional $4 million match and brings a combined total of $18.3 million new federal stimulus and private sector dollars to Indiana. Once built, residential and commercial service providers can further leverage this investment to improve access for more than 550,000 Indiana citizens and nearly 32,000 businesses. "ENA is honored to be the recipient of this BTOP grant," said David M. Pierce, president and CEO of ENA. "The grant award underlines the exceptional service and value that we have brought to Indiana's school and library community anchor institutions. We are absolutely committed to a brighter future for all of Indiana's students and citizens and are excited to begin this project." This BTOP grant will allow ENA to deploy a fiber-based connectivity infrastructure that will bring enhanced speed, reliability, affordability and increased subscribership to broadband services in Indiana geographies that have suffered from inadequate Internet access, ultimately promoting enhanced economic growth. By adding high-speed broadband Internet access and equity to these underserved communities, as many as 216,663 households, 31,808 businesses and 630 community anchor institutions including schools, libraries, fire stations, police stations, hospitals and other critical community organizations have the opportunity to become far better equipped to avail themselves of improved communications, distance learning, online training and access to a wide-variety of online government resources, as well as many other capabilities delivered courtesy of the information superhighway. "Providing equity of access to broadband service for all schools and libraries in Indiana is critical to achieving our educational objectives," said Dr. John B. Keller, director of Learning Technologies for the Indiana Department of Education. "This grant will help move us closer to making sure all schools have fiber-based, high-speed broadband access." "We are happy to see that Indiana will benefit from the broadband expansion made available from Washington, DC, and the plan proposed by ENA should result in improved access in rural and underserved areas of Indiana," said Jim Corridan, deputy state librarian, Indiana State Library. Due to a strong record of delivery performance, customer care and value, ENA received letters of support from the Indiana Department of Education, Indiana State Library, the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, 175 community institutions and four national associations for this project. With its proven experience servicing thousands of schools and libraries across the U.S. as well as its long-established partnerships with vendors, ENA is accustomed to completing over 400 new fiber installations annually. This know-how makes ENA "shovel-ready" and ENA is already moving forward on plans to install the proposed fiber network in Indiana. About Education Networks of America (ENA) ENA provides managed network and communication services to customers in the education, library and government sectors. Their scalable solutions facilitate collaboration, increase productivity and decrease the cost of information management through the convergence of data, voice and video technologies. ENA currently manages multiple statewide and district-wide education and library networks successfully serving over 5,000 end sites, 560 school districts, 230 libraries, more than 2.5 million students, teachers and administrators and more than 6.2 million librarians and patrons. ENA has recently been awarded the statewide Internet access and managed network services contract for the Indiana Department of Education E-Rate Consortia, which serves 350 school corporations, and the Indiana State Library Internet Consortium, which serves 220 library locations. Empowered by their networks, ENA's customers can focus on what matters most: preparing students, strengthening communities and leading enterprises to excel in the 21st century. For more information, please visit www.ena.com/BTOP. About the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) serves as the Executive Branch agency principally responsible for advising the President on communications and information policy. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, NTIA's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to NTIA and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to fund projects that will expand access to and adoption of broadband services. Of that funding, NTIA will utilize $4.7 billion for grants to deploy broadband infrastructure in the United States, expand public computer center capacity and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. NTIA will announce all grant awards by September 30, 2010. For further information about NTIA's BTOP grants, please visit www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants. |
