South Side Gigabit Challenge and Chicago's Broadband Future
Roxana Ryan
Published: October 16, 2012
Related to: Chicagoland eTeam
Tomorrow's 10 a.m. event and webinar will advance Chicago broadband discussion
CHICAGO- October 16, 2012 -- Governor Pat Quinn today announced the first winner of the Illinois Gigabit Communities Challenge, Gigabit Squared. The company, the City of Chicago, the University of Chicago, and Cook County, will receive $2 million in seed funding to jumpstart a fiber optic and wireless network in nine South Side Chicago neighborhoods.
At 10 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 17, Broadband Illinois will bring together key players involved in this application at a public forum and live webinar at the Chicago Urban League to discuss potential avenues to approach Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Chicago Broadband Challenge.
The event will take place in the lower-level conference room of the Chicago Urban League, 4510 South Michigan Ave. To register for the event and webinar, visit www.broadbandillinois.org/calendar/210.
Participants will hear from key players involved in the winning "Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program" application.
- Mark Ansboury and Robert Jennings, Gigabit Squared
- Laura Lane and Pierre Clark, Woodlawn Broadband Expansion Partnership
- William W. Towns, Neighborhood Initiatives at University of Chicago
- Brad Housewright, Broadband Illinois
An open discussion and question and answer session on the RFI posed from the Chicago Broadband Challenge will follow.
The following stakeholders, among others, are invited to attend this public meeting:
- Providers of broadband services in Chicago
- The 45 applicants for the Illinois Broadband Innovation Fund in the Chicagoland region
- Chicagoland applicants in the Governor's Gigabit Communities Challenge
- Computer training centers who have been funded or applied for funding from DCEO's Eliminate the Digital Divide program.
Contact Roxana Ryan at 217-690-8006 with questions about tomorrow's event.
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