Bridging the Digital Divide |
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MBI Issues Request for Proposals for
General Consulting Services The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) has issued a Request for Proposals for General Consulting Services (No. 2010-MBI-01) to solicit responses from firms to prequalify to provide consulting services to support the goals, activities, and work products of the MBI. In order to fulfill its mission, the MBI will be undertaking activities to: assess broadband penetration and access in the Commonwealth; engage with stakeholders and broadband service providers; issue solicitations; develop broadband partnerships; apply for federal stimulus funds; make investments; and monitor compliance and impacts of the MBI’s investments. Companies may respond to one or more of the following categories defined in the RFP: View the solicitation and related documents here; key dates are also below. MBI Overview The mission of the MBI, a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, is to extend affordable high-speed Internet access to all homes, businesses, schools, libraries, medical facilities, government offices, and other public places across our state. Governor Deval Patrick created the Massachusetts Broadband Institute when he signed the Broadband Act into law in August 2008. The Act gives the MBI the authority to invest up to $40 million of state bond funds in necessary and long-lived infrastructure assets—such as conduits, fiber-optic cable and wireless towers—according to a comprehensive broadband plan that the MBI is designing and will execute. The first step of this plan is to assess existing broadband availability, resources, and needs throughout the Commonwealth. In partnership with MassGIS, the MBI is already conducting a detailed mapping project, focusing on western Massachusetts, where the digital divide is most acute, to determine which locations within each community lack any broadband access. The MBI is also collaborating intensively with other government agencies to understand how their resources can contribute to the MBI’s mission, and how the MBI’s investments can help address their needs. In July 2009, Governor Patrick announced a partnership between the MBI and the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) to bring broadband to unserved and underserved communities in western Massachusetts. The $4.3 million in state bond funds will help build out broadband networks to enhance service for small businesses, schools and individuals and improve security and transportation operations in the area. The MBI has also begun engaging with private broadband firms, both large and small, to develop the co-investment partnerships expected to provide service to the public based on the MBI’s assets. The MBI will make limited and strategic public investments that leverage the use of public dollars to incentivize private investment from providers to supply complete broadband solutions to customers in unserved and underserved areas. As a result of these efforts, the MBI is well positioned for significant federal stimulus funds available for broadband grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The MBI submitted a proposal for federal broadband funding in August 2009. Solicitation Timeframe
Donna Baron of the MBI is solicitation manager. View the solicitation and related documents here.
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