[rtpnet-tact] e-NC implementation grant awards

[Judy Hallman]

RTPnet submitted its Help Desk proposal for an e-NC implementation grant.
This article from dBusinessNews provides info about projects e-NC is
funding. -- Judy

URL:
http://dbusinessnews.com/cgi-script/csNews/csNews.cgi?database=triangleheadlines.db&command=viewone&id=1092&op=t

Article:
E-NC COMMITS NEARLY $4 MILLION TO CONNECT RURAL COMMUNITIES 11-25-2002

E-communities implementation grants awarded; additional funding for
Western North Carolina reaffirmed

RALEIGH - Yesterday, leaders of the e-NC Initiative, the statewide effort
to connect all North Carolinians to the Internet and a better future,
voted to commit nearly $4 million in funds to support connectivity
projects statewide. As part of the decision, e-NC is awarding more than
$1.8 million in e-communities implementation grants to help rural counties
exand high-speed Internet service, training and use. E-NC also reaffirmed
$2 million in incentive funds has been earmarked to support connectivity
efforts in Western North Carolina that best answer the region's technology
needs with last-mile solutions.

Private funds support these grant programs and nearly all of e-NC's
efforts. Of the more than 80 organizations supporting e-NC through cash
and in-kind contributions, the largest contributor is MCNC (formerly the
Microelectronics Center of North Carolina). In 1999, this self-supporting,
nonprofit organization committed $30 million to e-NC for support of
programs and statewide initiatives.

Through its e-communities program, e-NC is awarding 14 implementation
grants ranging from $15,000 to $375,000 to serve 30 rural counties across
North Carolina. The grants will help counties carry out strategic plans to
increase high-speed Internet access, training and use in their
communities. Many of these strategic efforts were developed during the
planning phase of the e-communities program, a community outreach effort
designed to galvanize community support for and involvement in bringing
high-speed Internet access and training to all areas of the state. (Please
see pages two and three for grant awards.)

E-communities implementation grant proposals were assessed on a
competitive basis with funding awarded to those projects that displayed
potential for long-term sustainability, offered creative solutions,
impacted the largest number of people, and had the potential to be
replicated statewide. Proposed projects were accepted in four categories:
applications, connectivity, digital literacy training and public access.
By definition, applications use the Internet to improve access to
business, government, agriculture, health care and education services.
Connectivity projects - efforts to extend the infrastructure that makes
access possible - were required to include last-mile solutions, which
deliver high-speed Internet services to homes and businesses.

E-NC also reaffirmed its $2 million commitment to improving connectivity
in Western North Carolina as a portion of its Connectivity Incentive Grant
funds. During its August 2002 commission meeting, e-NC placed these funds
in reserve while it worked to determine what proposed solutions would best
meet the technology needs of citizens in the Western region of North
Carolina.

During the past three months, e-NC has conducted hands-on research in the
region. E-NC leaders have worked to determine where broadband - first-,
middle- and specifically last-mile - infrastructure exists in the region
and what specific last-mile solutions are being developed there. E-NC sent
out a request for information on last-mile connectivity solutions and
incorporated knowledge gained from the 22 responses it received. The group
also relied on information gathered during five public meetings it hosted
in Western North Carolina to determine needs. As well, e-NC gathered
additional research to determine the amount of last-mile access currently
available to rural areas of the 23 mountain counties in the Advantage West
economic development region.

The leaders of e-NC determined that to be considered for remaining
Connectivity Incentive Grants funding, proposals should have a last-mile
component to ensure the projects ultimately will lead to citizens and
businesses gaining greater high-speed Internet access. By requiring this,
e-NC is staying true to its mission of ensuring access to high-speed
Internet infrastructure is available to all North Carolinians by December
2003.

E-NC will call a meeting in early December to hear presentations from
groups seeking funding for last-mile connectivity solutions that will
serve some portion of the 23 counties that make up the Advantage West
economic development partnership zone. (Please see page three for list of
counties.) Based on this information, and previous research and
deliberations, e-NC leaders are expected to announce the group or groups
to which funding will be allocated at its Dec. 16, 2002, commission
meeting.

These announcements have come during a key month for e-NC. Earlier this
week, the U.S. Department of Commerce showcased e-NC as a national model
for rural connectivity at a media roundtable in Washington, D.C. E-NC also
recently announced it received a Special Recognition Award from the
National Association of State Chief Information Officers as part of the
organization's 15th annual Recognition Awards for Outstanding Achievement
in the Field of Information Technology.

About the e-NC Initiative:
The e-NC Initiative, a grassroots effort to connect all North Carolinians
to the Internet and a better future, is led by the Rural Internet Access
Authority. The authority was created Aug. 2, 2000, by the N.C. General
Assembly. E-NC has supported nearly all projects to date through $30
million in private funding committed by MCNC (formerly the
Microelectronics Center of North Carolina), a self-supporting, nonprofit
organization since 1998, and through cash or in-kind contributions from
more than 80 other organizations across the state and nation. The
authority is housed within the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center. For
more information, visit www.e-nc.org, call 1-866-NCRURAL, or send an
e-mail to info@e-nc.org.

E-communities Implementation Grant Awards:

Recipient, Grant Type, Grant Amount, Counties Served

South Piedmont Applications $260,000 Anson, Union, Richmond, Scotland
Community College

Fastransit Communications Applications $38,570.75 Ashe

N.C. Global Transpark Applications $125,000 Carteret, Craven, Duplin,
Edgecombe,  Authority Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Nash, Onslow,  Pamlico, Pitt,
Wayne, Wilson

Mount Olive College Applications $125,000 Carteret, Craven, Duplin,
Greene,  Agribusiness Center Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pamlico, Wayne

Perquimans County Applications $34,875 Perquimans Chamber of Commerce

Madison County Applications $61,350 Madison

Mountain Area Applications $15,000 Mitchell, Yancey Information Network

- More -

E-NC Commits Funding

Pamlico Information Connectivity $238,204 Pamlico Network Enterprise

Polk County Connectivity $375,000 Polk, Rutherford

Camden County Connectivity $325,000 Camden, Pasquotank

Belhaven Cable Television Connectivity $100,000 Beaufort, Hyde

Stokes County Connectivity $63,000 Stokes

Carteret Community Public Access $54,428 Carteret College

Town of Harrells Public Access $13,000 Sampson

Advantage West Counties:
Alleghany Ashe Avery Buncombe Burke Caldwell Cherokee Clay Graham Haywood
Henderson Jackson Macon Madison McDowell Mitchell Polk Rutherford Swain
Transylvania Watauga Wilkes Yancey