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The city of Boston and two companies in Maine and New Hampshire have won more than $28 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand broadband Internet access, as Vice President Joe Biden announced $182 million in funding for broadband projects in 17 states.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s office reports the city has received $1.9 million in stimulus funding to expand access to broadband Internet service.
The city plans to use the funds, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to buy computers and software in 53 locations, including the Boston Public Library, the library’s 25 neighborhood branches, 16 Boston Centers for Youth and Families, and the Boston Housing Authority’s 11 computer labs. The city estimated the computers would be used by 18,700 people per week. The funds will also be used for technology literacy training programs, according to the mayor’s office.
Two other grants for Boston are pending approval: $8 million for a hybrid fiber/wireless network to provide Internet connections for low-income residents, and $5.4 million for two broadband adoption programs.
Meanwhile, a public-private Internet group in Maine received $25.4 million in stimulus funding to expand broadband access in rural parts of Maine, according to the NTIA. The funding will go toward the Biddeford Internet Corp., a partnership among the University of Maine, Biddeford, Maine-based GWI, and other Internet service providers.
In New Hampshire, the Bretton Woods Telephone Co. plans to use a $985,000 grant to introduce 20 Mbps two-way broadband service in 400 locations in an effort to stimulate tourism in the area.
Speaking in Dawsonville, Ga., Vice President Biden announced a total of $2 billion in broadband stimulus grants, starting with an initial $182 million for projects in 17 states, including the above, according to the NTIA.
In other news, Gov. Deval Patrick announced the appointment of Judith Dumont as director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, a state agency working to bring broadband to all Bay State communities in 2011.
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