Earlier this year, at the start of Round Two, BTOP partnered with USDA’s Broadband Initiatives Program, to launch BroadbandMatch, an online tool that allowed potential broadband grant applicants to find partners for their projects, helping them to combine expertise and create stronger proposals. Conceived as part of the Obama Administration’s Open Government Initiative, the tool enabled applicants and would-be partners to see not only which small and minority-owned companies might supply goods or services for their projects, but also which nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and state and municipal governments were taking the initiative to improve broadband access and digital literacy.

Now, In response to positive feedback, and to promote continued broadband deployment and adoption, BroadbandMatch is here to stay. NTIA is re-launching the tool as an ongoing resource for communities pursuing broadband projects and programs. This tool can help BTOP grantees identify prospective vendors as they implement their projects, and it can aid businesses, non-profits, and state and local governments find potential partners to collaborate on broadband initiatives.

Though the grant application window was only open a few short weeks, over 1400 organizations established profiles on the BroadbandMatch site. This included hundreds of community anchor institutions like libraries and community colleges, hundreds more Internet service providers, dozens of small and minority-owned for-profit businesses, over a hundred states or municipalities, as well as various technology vendors, public safety institutions, venture capital firms and tribal entities.

In proclaiming last week as National Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) Week, President Obama stated:

“[A]s we continue strengthening the capacity of HBCUs, let us also recommit to preserving and enriching their long tradition of hope and success, and to continue sustaining our collective effort to meet and exceed America’s goals of educational excellence.”

The recent announcement of a BTOP award to North Carolina Central University’s School of Law supports the President’s call to enhance the capacity of HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions of higher learning (MSIs). The $2 million investment will upgrade broadband service for videoconferencing that will increase low-income residents’ access to legal services and extend classes to HBCU partners: Elizabeth City State University, Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina A&T University, and Fayetteville State University, as well as to 22 legal assistance sites. Fayetteville State and Coppin State University, another HBCU, previously received BTOP grants to establish new public computer centers.