Rural Broadband Meeting

NEWSFLASH!!! There is a boatload of stimulus money about to be launched to solve “rural broadband” issues.

The application was to be available on July 7, 2009 (has not yet been posted) and the deadline for submission is August 14, 2009 – yes, a folk, that’s five weeks away.

Here’s what we know:

The deadline is short. Washington State projects will be approved through the Governor’s Broadband Advisory Committee, and we in the Northeast Washington region have an opportunity to participate.

There are two sides to this issue and how the money will be allocated:

Supply Side… where is the bandwidth and where are the gaps?

Demand Side… if you supply the bandwidth, what will people and communities do with it? and how will they access it?

I invite you to a meeting on Thursday, July 16th from 9-12 to discuss, plan and refine our approach to this opportunity. Here’s the agenda:

9:00 – 9:30 Realities of the grant, the money, the deadlines
9:30 – 11:00 Split into two groups to discuss:

Supply Side: Redundancy, capacity needs, and gaps

Demand Side: Broadband to anchor institutions (i.e., schools, hospitals, libraries) throughout the county. We will share our concept of information/library centers that aligns rural libraries, social and medical services, county government, economic incubators and distance learning (see attached flyer)

11:00 – 11:30 Report back
11:30 – 12:00 Discuss grant approach and potential team members

Again, I invite you to participate if you are interested, and forward this to anyone you think may be. Please RSVP if you plan to attend so we can arrange the meeting rooms.

The meeting location on Thursday, July 16th from 9-12 is at the Ambulance Training Center in Colville (425 N. Highway 395 – next door to Ronnie Dee’s.)

Debra Kollock, Director
WSU Stevens County Extension
985 S. Elm, Suite A
Colville, WA 99114
Phone: (509) 684-2588
Fax: (509) 684-9790
http://stevens.wsu.edu

Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local Extension office.