The latest recipient of broadband stimulus funding – the MidAtlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC). MBC is a member owned cooperative that operates a fiber network in rural southwestern Virginia. MBC received $15 million in grants out of $20 million that were announced today for projects in Virginia.
MBC intends to use the funding to add 465 miles of new fiber that will directly connect 121 K-12 schools in Southern Virginia to an existing 800-mile fiber high-speed network. According to MBC’s grant application, this funding will improve “connection speeds for these schools from 1.5 Mbps to at least10 Mbps.”
This funding came from the Department of Commerce’s BTOP program. As we’ve mentioned before, the rate of stimulus awards will have to increase dramatically to reach the September 10, 2010 objective of committing all the funds from the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program.
