March 8, 2010

Louisiana Reaps $80 Million in Broadband Stimulus

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), has granted an $80 million broadband stimulus investment to the Louisiana Broadband Alliance, a collaboration among six state agencies.

The alliance plans to deploy more than 900 miles of fiber-optic network to expand broadband Internet service . The new network intends to provide direct connections for more than 80 community anchor institutions including universities, K-12 schools, libraries, and healthcare facilities.

The 3,488-square-mile service area includes 12 impoverished parishes targeted by the state’s Louisiana Delta Initiative and a separate five-parish area that is home to four federally-recognized American Indian Tribes.

The new network will connect to the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI), a more than 1,600-mile fiber-optic network that connects Louisiana and Mississippi research universities to National LambdaRail and Internet2.