Project OVERCOME will Accelerate Novel Broadband Deployments in Underserved Communities

Project OVERCOME, a National Science Foundation- (NSF-) funded effort, will accelerate the delivery of broadband services to unserved and underserved communities. The project has received an NSF grant award (Award # CNS-2044448) of $1.945 million, which will support the selection and buildout of five proof-of-concept network deployments designed to connect both rural and urban communities in novel ways. US Ignite will oversee the selection process as well as the build-out phase of the winning concept proposals. Project teams will be chosen based on the use of innovative technologies, such as mesh networks and new spectrum access solutions, as well as creative deployment models that leverage both public and private sector partners. Over $1.5 million in funding will be awarded to community winners of the solicitation. Throughout Project OVERCOME, US Ignite will collect data to measure the technical and social impacts of different connectivity strategies. Using these data, and through subsequent analysis, US Ignite aims to discover patterns of success that can be repeated on a larger scale across the country, and to catalog the distinctions that emerge based on variations in the communities served.