List of state applications for mapping money — Connected Nations ain’t looking like a great asset
Hmmm. Click HERE for the list of applicants for mapping money from the NTIA. Notice anything interesting? Looks like Connected Nations isn't the only possible solution for coming up with state-level mapping of broadband availability. Remember my "cranky" post? Where the University of Minnesota got stiffed by the Pawlenty administration because they "couldn't assure the providers of confidentiality"? Well, it sure looks like lots of other states figured that equation differently.
And gosh all fishhooks. The NTIA has just released the first 4 grants for mapping money to non-Connected-Nations states. The story behind that link says that the reason that the NTIA favored those applications was this;
According to the NTIA, these states’ applications stood out from the rest because they plan to get data from sources other than the usual suspects (incumbent telecom and cable operators), verify the data they collect, and collaborate with other state agencies.
Y'know... If they'd asked us Task Force folks (instead of just handing the deal to Connected Nations), we could have told the state bureaucrats that. Maybe we've moved from the front of the line to the back of the line? Clever us.
