 |
 |
||
|
|
||
'Project Overcome' seeks new ways to close digital divideAs the pandemic continues to cast a brighter spotlight on the digital divide and its disastrous impact on communities, it's becoming clear that large-scale broadband builds are not addressing the problem fast enough. New and supplemental solutions may be needed to connect communities quickly and to meet individual challenges to getting people online: whether those are specific to location, income, policy or something else. That's the thinking behind a new initiative from US Ignite called "Project Overcome," an effort to accelerate broadband delivery to unserved and underserved communities. Project Overcome is supported by a $1.945 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which US Ignite says in a press release "will support the selection and buildout of five proof-of-concept network deployments designed to connect both rural and urban communities in novel ways." Lee Davenport, director of community development for US Ignite, tells Broadband World News that the partnership with NSF formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, spurred by the need for new solutions to connect those in need. "We're looking forward to seeing the wide array of solutions that meet communities where they are," says Davenport. The goal is to uncover "simple, discrete, manageable projects that can be launched and run within a year," he adds. Mari Silbey, senior director of partnerships and outreach at US Ignite, says the expectation is there are combinations of technologies out there and different ways of deploying them that have yet to be experimented with, but may provide solutions. "There are lots of new assets out there now, whether new spectrum available, new devices or new software that make the operations of a network simpler," she says. Data-driven deployments As part of Project Overcome, US Ignite will also collect data to measure the impacts of different connectivity strategies in an effort to discover patterns of success that can be duplicated in communities across the country. Deep Medhi, program director for NSF's Computer & Network Systems (CNS) division, says the data-driven element of this project is particularly important to NSF. He tells Broadband World News that the organization will work with experts in behavioral sciences to determine the social impacts of these micro-deployments to better inform and support larger-scale future builds. US Ignite plans to issue a call for proposals within the month. Projects will be selected based on their use of innovative technologies (like mesh networks and spectrum access solutions) and "creative deployment models" that involve public and private partners. Winners will be announced early spring 2021, followed by a fast transition to a deployment phase. Related posts:
— Nicole Ferraro, contributing editor, Light Reading |
Latest Articles
Here's where you can find episode links for 'The Divide,' Light Reading's podcast series featuring conversations with broadband providers and policymakers working to close the digital divide.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will present our Cable Next-Gen Europe conference as a free digital symposium on June 21.
Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days in mid-March.
Launch of 2-Gig and 5-Gig FTTP tiers in 70-plus markets puts more pressure on cable ops to enhance their existing DOCSIS 3.1 network or accelerate their upgrade activity centered on the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs.
 WebinarsARCHIVED
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
1:00 p.m. New York / 6:00 p.m. London When your broadband business adds new services and connected devices, do they also add complexity, slowing customer support teams as they navigate multiple data sources to uncover connectivity issues? We’ve worked with hundreds of support teams to help them implement a subscriber experience management platform that gives greater visibility into subscriber issues. They can proactively troubleshoot amid complexity—improving the subscriber experience and raising customer satisfaction ratings like Net Promoter Scores. Join this webinar with experts from Calix and global research leader Omdia who will share exclusive research about how you can:
|
|
|
||
