Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Level 3 EON, Totah Communications awarded more than $9.5 million to expand broadband Internet in Kansas
Colorado-based Level 3 EON and Oklahoma-based Totah Communications have been awarded a combined $9,510,865 in federal Recovery Act funds for broadband Internet infrastructure improvements in south-central and southeast Kansas.
Level 3 EON was awarded $998,400 in federal funding for its proposed Expanding Broadband Access Across Kansas project, which will build four new access points on Level 3’s existing broadband network to enable last-mile providers to offer affordable high-speed services to underserved areas near Wichita and along the Kansas-Missouri border. The project could enhance broadband capabilities for as many as 50,000 households, 3,600 businesses and 150 community anchor institutions, including schools, government agencies and healthcare providers.
Totah Communications was awarded $8,512,465 in federal grants and loans for its proposed Totah Broadband Expansion Project, which will upgrade existing copper-fed DSL nodes to fiber-fed DSL nodes and install additional fiber-fed DSL nodes throughout northeastern Oklahoma and southeast Kansas. The project would mean 60 jobs saved and/or created and improved Internet access to 800 new customers.
The Level 3 EON award comes from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications Information Administration as part of the Recovery Act. BTOP provides grants to various organizations ─ such as providers, nonprofits, government entities, educational institutions, libraries and hospitals ─ to fund broadband infrastructure, public computer centers and sustainable broadband adoption projects to expand the economy, create jobs and improve citizens’ access to education and healthcare services.
The Totah Communications award comes from the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service as part of the Recovery Act. BIP makes loans and grants primarily to Internet service providers for rural broadband infrastructure projects.
“We’re excited that Level 3 EON and Totah Communications have been awarded this Recovery Act funding to expand high-speed Internet in Kansas,” said Kansas Secretary of Commerce Bill Thornton. “Through projects like this, we’ll continue to foster economic growth and sustainability in our rural communities while also increasing the overall quality-of-life for our rural citizens.”
The awards mark the latest successes for the Connect Kansas initiative, which was unveiled last year by the Kansas Department of Commerce to map the state’s existing Internet capabilities, create a strategy for broadband infrastructure improvements and help Kansas organizations apply for federal Recovery Act funding. Connect Kansas is funded by the Recovery Act, which has designated more than $7.2 billion for states to increase rural high-speed Internet access through the BTOP and BIP programs. Earlier this year, Kansas-based Rural Telephone Service Co. was awarded more than $101 million through the BIP program.
For details on the Connect Kansas initiative or to learn how organizations can apply for federal funds, visit www.ConnectKansas.org.
Company Profiles
Level 3 EON is a subsidiary of Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT), a Broomfield, Colo.-based Internet backbone carrier. Level 3 is a leading international provider of fiber-based communications services. Enterprise, content, wholesale and government customers rely on Level 3 to deliver services with an industry-leading combination of scalability and value over an end-to-end fiber network. Level 3 offers a portfolio of metro and long-haul services, including transport, data, Internet, content delivery and voice. The company also operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world with 54,000 intercity and 27,000 metro route miles spanning more than 190 markets in 22 countries. For more information, contact Kimberly Greene at Kimberly.Greene@Level3.com
Totah Communications is a local communications provider in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma offering telephone services, including long-distance, and high-speed Internet. Totah has approximately 3,000 voice service subscribers and more than 1,100 DSL subscribers in rural Oklahoma and Kansas. All of Totah’s service area is rural, sparsely populated with a population density of less than two people per square mile. For more information, contact Keith Watson at kewatson@totelcsi.com.
For details about Connect Kansas and broadband efforts in Kansas, contact Joe Monaco, Public Information Officer with the Kansas Department of Commerce, at (785) 296-3760 or jmonaco@kansascommerce.com.
