State Broadband Capacity Building:

The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) will oversee a research project to assess the availability and adoption of broadband as it relates to the telemedicine, telehealth, and electronic medical records infrastructure at health care anchor institutions. It will also lead a separate research project that analyzes comprehensive data from businesses and organizations, households and institutions to produce a broadband infrastructure and adoption strategic plan for Virginia. Both of these projects will target areas with BTOP/RUS investments.
Technical Assistance: This project will support direct technical assistance to unserved and underserved communities throughout the state, and will help these communities identify the actions needed to improve broadband availability and adoption.

Technical Assistance:

In partnership with Virginia Tech and VGIN, CIT will provide technical assistance to tribes across the country as they seek to participate in state broadband mapping projects. The project team will closely coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission’s Native Nations Broadband Task Force, and seek input from tribal leaders knowledgeable in this area.

Data Collection, Integration, and Validation:

This project was originally funded for broadband planning activities and two years of data collection. In September of 2010, this project was amended to extend data collection activities for an additional three years and to identify and implement best practices.