Level 3 and others win broadband grants

Until now, most of the organizations receiving broadband stimulus funding have been relatively unfamiliar names -- outside the Independent telco community anyway. But that changed when Level 3 Communications won a total of $14 million in grants to add a total of 47 new access points to its existing broadband network in six states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas. Those access points will be open to local Internet service providers at speeds of up to 50 Mbps.

The six grants were among 23 announced by the National Telecommunications and Information Agency. These included nine other broadband infrastructure awards, as well as six public computing center awards and two sustainable adoption awards.