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The non-profit OpenCape Corporation announced it was notified by the U.S. Department of Commerce that it has been awarded $32 million in Broadband Stimulus funds to construct a 350-mile fiber optic network, wireless microwave network and regional data center.

 

Congressman Bill Delahunt made the award announcement at Cape Cod Community College.

 

The $32 million BTOP grant will be combined with matching funds totaling $8 million from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, RCN Metro Optical Networks (News - Alert) 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 open access, vendor neutral middle mile network will connect over 60 anchor institutions on Cape Cod and the Islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. In addition,

 

OpenCape will build further connections to the Internet in Providence, R.I., along the South Coast, and to Boston through Plymouth and Brockton. These paths will allow many additional anchor institutions throughout southeast Massachusetts to connect to the network.

 

OpenCape will serve as an underpinning infrastructure for economic diversification and expansion on Cape Cod. The fiber along the South Coast can also serve as a foundation for additional broadband capacity in that region, helping to provide an economic stimulus in cities such as Fall River and New Bedford where unemployment is nearly 15 percent.

 

“OpenCape is the product of years of work and collaboration by organizations and individuals across our region,” said OpenCape’s president, Dan Gallagher. “It’s a vital part of the region’s long term growth and competitiveness strategy and we are excited to have assembled all of the necessary funding to immediately begin building the OpenCape network.”

 

OpenCape estimates that the project will create more than 200 jobs in the equipment, construction and manufacturing sectors, as well as an additional 200 indirect jobs.

 

OpenCape will immediately bring together the many stake holders who have participated in the development of the concept to focus the region on executing the grant and building the network. “We are going to come together as a region to celebrate a little, but then get right back to work,” said Gallagher.

 

The OpenCape Corporation 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.

 

RCN Metro 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 (News - Alert).

 

In related news, U.S. Rep Bill Delahunt joined with Senator John Kerry, Congressmen James McGovern, Barney Frank and Stephen Lynch, and Governor Deval Patrick to announce that the non-profit OpenCape Corporation will receive $32 million in federal funding as part of the national telecommunications and information administration’s broadband technology opportunity program and with $8 million dollars in matching funds, the total investment in the region will be $40 million dollars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delahunt Announces OpenCape Broadband Initiative to Receive $32 Million

 

U.S. Rep Bill Delahunt joined with Senator John Kerry, Congressmen James McGovern, Barney Frank and Stephen Lynch, and Governor Deval Patrick to announce that the non-profit OpenCape Corporation will receive $32 million in federal funding as part of the national telecommunications and information administration's broadband technology opportunity program and with $8 million dollars in matching funds, the total investment in the region will be $40 million dollars. The funding will allow OpenCape to build critical middle mile capacity for the Cape Cod region. The open access network will create opportunities for jobs, economic diversification, and regional efficiencies in government. It will support broadband options for anchor institutions, enable last mile providers to reach un- and underserved areas, and offer an emergency network in this hurricane-vulnerable region. OpenCape, under the leadership of Dan Gallagher from Cape Cod Community College, is a regional effort dedicated to meeting the full range of communications needs for business, education, government, disaster response, and individual citizens. Its goals and network design evolved over three years through summits, conferences, and meetings with stake holders and constituencies across the geographic and functional spectrum.