GITA Announces Creation of the Arizona Broadband Advisory Committee

Phoenix, Arizona - Chad Kirkpatrick, State CIO and Director of Arizona’s Government Information Technology Agency (GITA), announced the creation of the Arizona Broadband Advisory Committee (ABAC). “The Arizona Broadband Advisory Committee will prioritize federal broadband grant applications, and recommend to the Governor those projects that will best deliver broadband services to unserved and underserved areas in Arizona,” Director Kirkpatrick said.

The ABAC Committee consists of representatives from ten different Arizona State Agencies, with staff support from the Governor’s Office and GITA. Director Chad Kirkpatrick will serve as the chairman of the ABAC committee.

“The availability of broadband to Arizona citizens, government institutions and businesses is one of the most important ingredients in developing Arizona’s future,” declared Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. “It will have a significant positive impact on Arizona’s public safety, education, health, economic growth and quality of life.”

After the ABAC Committee has made its recommendations, the Governor will review and send a final list of recommendations to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

NTIA has asked each state to prioritize their broadband grant applications based on their greatest needs. The NTIA will take these opinions and comments into consideration before awarding the broadband grants. A total of $1.6 billion is available during the first round of NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) program. The first round of grants are expected to be awarded in the fourth quarter of 2009.

NTIA’s BTOP grants are intended to help pay for broadband infrastructure that brings broadband service to unserved and underserved areas ($1.2 billion available); computer centers for the public ($50 million available); and innovative broadband projects that will encourage more people to use broadband technology, which includes education, awareness and training ($150 million available). An additional $200 million in grant funding is available to allocate among these three categories at NTIA’s discretion.

The ten Arizona state agencies participating on the ABAC Committee are: the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the Departments of Administration, Commerce, Education, Health Services, Homeland Security, Public Safety, Transportation, State Land Department, and GITA serving as the lead agency.

 

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