Opencape Supporters Gather to Celebrate $32 Million Broadband Grant
Published on Friday, March 12, 2010
OpenCape Supporters Gather to Celebrate $32 Million Broadband Grant and Plan for Construction
Over 100 stake holders come together to celebrate and plan for the construction of the $40 million middle mile network that OpenCape and its private operating partner RCN Metro Optical Networks will build
WEST BARNSTABLE, MA, March 12, 2010 – Over 100 leaders and stake holders from across southeast Massachusetts joined state and federal officials at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Cape and Islands (RHCI) in Sandwich, MA today to celebrate the award of a $32 million grant and to plan the construction of the OpenCape network.
The non-profit OpenCape Corporation announced on March 2, 2010 that it was awarded a $32 million Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus funds. The $32 million BTOP grant will be combined with matching funds totaling $8 million from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, RCN Metro Optical Networks and Barnstable County to construct a comprehensive middle mile network to support the economic, educational, public safety and governmental needs of the southeast Massachusetts region.
The gathering at RHCI was to celebrate the award of the $32 million BTOP grant, thank the many organizations and individuals who participated in the development of the concept and plan for the construction of the network. Dan Gallagher, President of OpenCape Corporation and the Executive Director of Information Technology at Cape Cod Community College, said, “All of the people in this room, and some who are not, have worked hard on this grass-roots effort over the past three years. We are immensely happy that we have accumulated $40 million in committed funds to build the OpenCape network. We’ll celebrate now and get right back to work tomorrow to build the network and provide the telecommunications infrastructure that will service this region for the next 50 years.”
Public-private partnership with experienced telecomm firm RCN Metro Optical Networks
OpenCape, as a small non-profit corporation, made the deliberate decision not to market directly to individuals believing that that function is better left to the private sector. The public ownership/licensed private operation model embraced by OpenCape ensures the interests of the community are protected and advanced while complex technical network construction and operations are performed by its experienced private operating partner – RCN Metro Optical Networks.
RCN Metro Optical Networks, a division of RCN Corporation (NASDAQ: RCNI), was selected in a competitive process last July to design, build and manage operations for the regional open access network as part of a public-private partnership.
“We are proud to be a part of this historic project," said Felipe Alvarez, President of RCN Metro Optical Networks. "RCN Metro's unique expertise in designing, building and operating middle mile, high speed optical networks will ensure communities in this region have reliable access to the highest quality telecommunications services available."
Supporting communities and anchor institutions
The OpenCape network will help the region’s communities overcome the distance and technology barrier by expanding connectivity between anchor institutions. The towns, school districts, libraries, colleges, hospitals and research organizations of the region will gain access to the OpenCape infrastructure and connect to one another and the broader Internet in ways that will improve services.
OpenCape will add significant telecommunications capacity for all of the towns in Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties and portions of Plymouth and Bristol Counties. Approximately 321,204 households representing approximately 515,648 individuals, as well as 62,129 businesses, will be served by the network.
The network will connect more than 70 community anchor institutions to the network as part of its initial build-out, including 12 emergency shelters located in schools, 30 libraries, five colleges, six academic research facilities and 18 town or public safety buildings. The OpenCape network path makes it possible for many additional anchor institutions to easily add service from the network.
“Connecting the six CONNECT colleges and universities of southeast Massachusetts to a common network infrastructure will enable them to collaborate and innovate in the delivery of services to students in ways that are not possible today,” said Kathleen Schatzberg, President of Cape Cod Community College.
John Campbell, CIO of RHCI and Spaulding Hospitals, noted, “The hospitals of the southeast Massachusetts region see opportunities for advancing health care collaboration, increasing effectiveness and lowering costs. Healthcare providers from across the region will be working together to take full advantage of the OpenCape infrastructure.”
Art Gaylord, Director of Computer and Information Services at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, added, “The Oceanographic and other research entities of the area must have the capacity that OpenCape will bring. Our future is tied to our ability to gather and deliver ever increasing amounts of data to the world’s scientific community.”
Public Safety
Cape Cod is vulnerable to ocean storms and hurricanes. OpenCape has committed to connecting 12 regional emergency shelters on Cape Cod and one on each of the islands. In addition, OpenCape is working with state, regional and local public safety officials to improve public safety communications. OpenCape will offer connections to its fiber network to at least six federal, state or regional public safety organizations and the microwave portion of the network will be dedicated to public safety. The network will aid the state in building a state-wide public safety network, provide a redundant trunk path for 800Mhz communications and increase mobile communications that will permit access to such vital digital resources as the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS).
Creating jobs and economic opportunity
OpenCape estimates the project will create more than 200 direct jobs related to the construction of the network and an additional 200 in related indirect jobs in the manufacturing sector. Beyond these short-term jobs are permanent jobs associated with the network’s operation, marketing and management. The long-term expectation is that the project will enable the diversification and expansion of the year-round Cape economy into information age services and products.
The OpenCape fiber optics that will connect to the Internet backbone in Providence will also serve as a foundation for additional broadband capacity along the South Coast, helping to provide an economic stimulus in cities such as Fall River and New Bedford where unemployment is nearly 15 percent.
Cape Cod has been evaluating its economic future over the past several years and a consensus of opinion is that the area must diversify into the information services sector if it is to create the types of jobs it needs to remain economically viable. The region has a history of entrepreneurship and a culture of creativity that makes it well suited to the development of intellectual property and information services.
The Barnstable County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) identified OpenCape as its top priority project and many additional goals are dependent on the completion of the OpenCape network. Paul Niedzwiecki, Director of the Cape Cod Commission, said, “The County is a fully-committed partner in this endeavor. We will continue to do all we can to aid in its success, but we will especially work to aid the region in developing the many applications that will help deliver better services to our citizens through a regional umbrella services model.”
“As the community of Cape Cod, we recognize the need to create low-impact and high-paying jobs that will allow our children to raise their families in this culturally and environmentally-rich region. OpenCape is a major component of our overall strategy to ensure the Cape’s economy will thrive in the future,” said Wendy Northcross, CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.
The road ahead
The OpenCape project will be built over the next three years, but the system will be divided into rings that will permit smaller completed sections to come on-line sooner as independent segments. OpenCape will continue to rely on the many partnerships and relationships it has established throughout the region to ensure the project moves as rapidly as possible toward completion.
About OpenCape Corporation
The OpenCape Corporation (www.opencape.com)is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. OpenCape Corporation’s purpose is to fulfill the need for a regional communications network on Cape Cod and the Islands to enhance education, research, and economic development, AND provide for an emergency communications network in times of crisis.
About RCN Metro Optical Networks
RCN Metro (www.rcnmetro.com) is a premier provider of high-capacity transport services for carriers as well as large and medium-sized businesses. RCN Metro offers a comprehensive suite of services including: Ethernet, SONET, Wavelength, Video Transport, Internet and more. With a network leveraging unique rights-of-way, spanning from Maine to Virginia and out to Chicago, RCN Metro deploys custom solutions to service providers as well as companies in the finance, hospitality, media, government, health care and education industries. RCN Metro is a wholly owned division of RCN Corporation.
About RCN Corporation
RCN Corporation, (NASDAQ: RCNI) (www.rcn.com) is a competitive broadband services provider delivering all-digital and high definition video, high-speed internet and premium voice services to residential and small-medium business customers under the brand names of RCN and RCN Business Services, respectively. In addition, through its RCN Metro Optical Networks business unit, RCN delivers fiber-based high-capacity data transport services to large commercial customers, primarily large enterprises and carriers, targeting the metropolitan central business districts in the company's geographic markets. RCN's primary service areas include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley (PA), New York City, Boston and Chicago. (RCNI-G)
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