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EPIC Grant Winners Include Municipal Networks and Community Connectivity Solutions
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The winners of the Truist EPIC grant program, which we wrote about earlier this year, have been announced.
47 projects applied for the funds. Innovative, community-centered projects in Florida and Alabama will be taking home money. So too is Wilson, North Carolina for an expansion of its municipal network, Greenlight. The awards will be distributed by the Internet Society:
Five recipients will share $1 million in grant funding to expand broadband access in their communities as part of the Truist Expanding Potential in Communities (EPIC) Grant. The grant program supports broadband initiatives to help alleviate disparities in education, employment and social welfare in the Southeastern United States.
The grants are "directed toward supporting community networks built, owned and operated by local governments and organizations."
The full list includes:
- The Duval County Public Schools will receive $180,000 for Project OVERCOME21, a plan to turn schools in the Florida district into local broadband hubs for the surrounding community. The hubs boost signals to a three-mile radius and connect to the school district’s existing network.
- The Tuskegee Housing Authority will receive nearly $180,000 for its Jesup “Cyber Wagon” Project in Tuskegee, Ala. The project will provide broadband access to low-income, Black communities where a lack of Internet has hindered access to health, education and other services.
- The City of Wilson, N.C., has been granted nearly $180,000 to expand North Carolina’s Community Broadband fiber-to-the-home into a rural, majority Black community in Wilson County.
- The City of Williston, Fla., will receive $108,000 for its broadband program, COWLink, to support efforts to improve access and speed of broadband for local businesses, schools and homes.
- Wave 7 Communications will receive more than $150,000 to connect residents of Enfield, N.C. and outlying rural areas, train digital stewards and provide online learning to residents.
In a press release, Internet Society Regional Vice President for North America Mark Buell said that “[w]ith the Truist EPIC grant, we are able to support community-driven connectivity solutions to ensure more Americans can access the benefits the Internet offers at a time when it’s never been more important. We look forward to working with our new community partners to bring this vital resource to underserved regions.”
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