Connected Nation Inc

TO ACCELERATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE GROWTH AND APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY.

CONNECT PROGRAM - COMPRISES COMMUNITY PLANNING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND RESEARCH, MAPPING, AND OUTREACH. COMMUNITY PLANNING, ALSO KNOWN AS THE CONNECTED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM OR CONNECTEDSM, IS A FACILITATED BROADBAND AND TECHNOLOGY PLANNING EFFORT. CONNECTED ENGAGES LOCAL LEADERS TO EVALUATE THEIR COMMUNITY'S CURRENT STATE OF TECHNOLOGY ACCESS, ADOPTION, AND USE. THE PROGRAM OFFERS COMMUNITIES THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEASURE THE SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE COMMUNITY WITH UNPRECEDENTED DATA GATHERING, ANALYSIS, AND PLANNING. CONNECTED'S UNIQUE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO THE LOCAL TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM, IDENTIFIES GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES, AND SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACTIONABLE TECHNOLOGY PLAN TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNITY'S STANDING IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY. THE PROGRAM IS SERVICED VIA A DEDICATED WEB PORTAL AS WELL AS COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND HELPS COMMUNITIES FRAME THEIR NEEDS AROUND BROADBAND ACCESS, ADOPTION, AND USE BY COLLECTION OF LOCAL DATA VIA A SERIES OF SURVEYS. AFTER ASSESSING THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY, THE PROGRAM MATCHES IMPLEMENTABLE SOLUTIONS WITH LOCALLY IDENTIFIED BARRIERS TO ACCESS, ADOPTION, AND USE.TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND RESEARCH OPENS UP A GATEWAY TO EDUCATIONAL, INFORMATIONAL, GOVERNMENTAL, HEALTH, AND SOCIAL RESOURCES. THE ORGANIZATION HAS WORKED WITH POLICYMAKERS, COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS, RESEARCHERS, BUSINESSES, EDUCATORS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO OFFER GUIDANCE, EXPERTISE, AND RESEARCH TO EXPAND BROADBAND TO UNDERSERVED AREAS ACROSS THE NATION. THE ORGANIZATION'S INDUSTRY-LEADING RESEARCH INTO BROADBAND DEMAND AND USAGE, AS WELL AS BARRIERS TO BROADBAND ADOPTION, PROVIDES THE NEEDED INFORMATION FOR COMMUNITIES TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. COMBINED WITH ITS INNOVATIVE MAPS, THE ORGANIZATION'S PROGRAMS GIVE AN UNPRECEDENTED VIEW OF AN AREA'S BROADBAND LANDSCAPE. MAPPING RELIES ON THE COOPERATION OF PRIVATE PROVIDERS, AND THE ORGANIZATION'S COMMUNITY EXPANSION EFFORTS SIMILARLY RELY ON WORK WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR. THE ORGANIZATION ACTIVELY SEEKS TO ENGAGE PARTNERS FROM ALL SECTORS IN THE WORK OF BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE. THESE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ALLOW THE ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE TANGIBLE RESULTS IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE NATION. FIELD DATA COLLECTION AND VALIDATION EFFORTS PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONFIDENCE IN BROADBAND DATA ACCURACY AND ALSO PROVIDE CONFIRMATION OF OR REVISIONS TO PROVIDER-REPORTED INFORMATION; THESE EFFORTS ASSIST IN EXPANDING BROADBAND IN AREAS THAT HAVE TYPICALLY BEEN OVERLOOKED. RAISING AWARENESS OF THE ISSUES SURROUNDING BROADBAND EXPANSION IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION. THE ORGANIZATION FACILITATES BROADBAND SUMMITS WHICH BRING TOGETHER STAKEHOLDERS FROM GOVERNMENT, NON-PROFITS, THE PROVIDER COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, AND OTHER SECTORS, ALONG WITH OTHER INDUSTRY LEADERS, TO OFFER A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR DIRECT ENGAGEMENT, PLANNING, AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING. SIMILARLY, THE ORGANIZATION ACTIVELY WORKS WITH INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES AND VARIOUS SECTORS TO ENGAGE THEM IN THE PLANNING PROCESS BY OFFERING A COMPREHENSIVE STRUCTURE AND THE NEEDED SUPPORT TO EXPAND BROADBAND ACCESS LOCALLY. TELEHEALTH IS ONE SUCH SECTOR IN WHICH THE ORGANIZATION HAS RECENTLY ENGAGED. THE ORGANIZATION UNDERTOOK A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF RURAL TELEHEALTH BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES. THIS STUDY LED TO THE DESIGN OF A TELEHEALTH AWARENESS AND CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT TO IMPROVE THE ACCESS TO AND USE OF TELEHEALTH IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUES TO ADVANCE THE USE OF BROADBAND FOR TELEHEALTH TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RESIDENTS IN THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH IT IS ENGAGED.

DIGITAL WORKS - A UNIQUE AND SUSTAINABLE DIGITAL UPSKILLING AND JOB CREATION STRATEGY THAT BRINGS HIGH-DEMAND TECHNOLOGY-BASED JOBS TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES WITHIN VULNERABLE DEMOGRAPHIC AND GEOGRAPHIC POPULATIONS. DIGITAL WORKS CONNECTS TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITIES TO PEOPLE WHO ARE SEEKING EMPLOYMENT BY ADDRESSING DIGITAL SKILL GAPS AND LEVERAGING BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY FOR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT OUTSOURCING AND ADVANCED REMOTE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POSITIONS. USING A DIGITAL LEARNING MODEL, THE DIGITAL WORKS PROGRAM TRAINS, PLACES, AND MENTORS HIGH-QUALITY CANDIDATES AND LOCATES CO-WORKING CENTERS IN SETTINGS WHERE JOB DEMAND IS HIGH, FEW EMPLOYERS EXIST, AND THE COST OF LIVING IS LOW. THIS INCLUDES RURAL AND MORE URBAN SETTINGS AS WELL. AT THE END OF TRAINING, WORKERS ARE PROVIDED JOB OPPORTUNITIES THAT MATCH THEIR SKILLS AND CAREER GOALS. DIGITAL WORKS HAS ALSO IDENTIFIED THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT THE MILITARY COMMUNITY. THE PROGRAM BENEFITS MILITARY SPOUSES WHO NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEAMLESSLY TAKE THEIR REMOTE JOBS WHEREVER THE MILITARY TAKES THEM AND VETERANS WHO ARE ATTRACTED TO THE FLEXIBILITY AND RELIABILITY OF HIGH-DEMAND, REMOTE JOBS.

EDUCATION - A SET OF K-12-FOCUSED EDUCATION INITIATIVES THAT IDENTIFIES AND ADDRESSES SCHOOL CONNECTIVITY AND CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY DEFICIENCIES AND THE LACK OF INTERNET ACCESS AT HOME (KNOWN AS THE "HOMEWORK GAP") AMONG VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THROUGH PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT DIRECTLY ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. THROUGH POLICY ADVOCACY AND RESEARCH, THE ORGANIZATION SEEKS TO ENSURE THAT FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS SUCH AS E-RATE HAVE THE MAXIMUM EFFECT ON THESE ISSUES. THE ORGANIZATION WORKS WITH FEDERAL AND STATE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCIES, LAWMAKERS, SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERS, AND CORPORATE PARTNERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES TO INCREASE THE SPEED AND QUALITY OF INTERNET AND WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN) ACCESS IN SCHOOLS WHILE LOWERING COSTS AND IMPROVING SCHOOL NETWORK DESIGNS. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO WORKS WITH CORPORATE PARTNERS TO IMPLEMENT PHILANTHROPIC PROGRAMS THAT MAKE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS, SUCH AS MOBILE LONG TERM EVOLUTION (LTE) DATA SERVICES, AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS FOR AT-HOME USE. DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE NEED FOR CONTINUED REMOTE LEARNING IN SCHOOLS ACROSS AMERICA, THE ORGANIZATION IMPLEMENTED A PROJECT FOR AT&T THAT DISTRIBUTED MORE THAN 40,000 MOBILE WI-FI HOTSPOTS TO SCHOOLS AND NON-PROFITS THAT SERVICE DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS. THE HOTSPOTS INCLUDED 14 MONTHS OF FREE SERVICE.MUCH OF THE ORGANIZATION'S K-12-FOCUSED WORK IS UNDERGIRDED BY THE INTELLIGENCE PRODUCED THROUGH ITS CONNECT K-12 INITIATIVE. IN 2019, FELLOW NON-PROFIT EDUCATIONSUPERHIGHWAY SELECTED THE ORGANIZATION TO CARRY FORWARD ITS SCHOOL CONNECTIVITY-FOCUSED INITIATIVE. WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH E-RATE PROGRAM CONSULTANTS FUNDS FOR LEARNING (FFL), THE ORGANIZATION COLLECTS AND ANALYZES SCHOOL CONNECTIVITY AND PRICING DATA FOR THE NATION'S 13,000+ PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS EACH YEAR, DISPLAYING THE DATA AT WWW.CONNECTK12.ORG. THE GOAL IS TO MAKE SUCH INFORMATION TRANSPARENT AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYONE, EQUIPPING STATE AND SCHOOL DISTRICT LEADERS WITH THE INTELLIGENCE THEY NEED TO NEGOTIATE BETTER DEALS FOR SERVICES AND DRIVING PROGRESS TOWARD MEETING THE FCC'S BANDWIDTH GOAL OF 1 MBPS PER STUDENT IN 99% OF AMERICA'S PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS BY 2025. THE PROGRAM FINISHED ITS SECOND PROGRAM YEAR IN 2021 AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST 2024.