What We Do
We partner with stakeholders to close the digital divide in persistent poverty counties across the U.S.
We offer the following services:
Broadband Project Development
- Bring stakeholders together to form collaborative partnerships between local governments, nonprofits, economic development entities, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), healthcare entities, schools/universities, churches, and other anchor institutions.
- Develop city, county, town, and colonia broadband deployment and digital inclusion plans based on best practices and asset-based community development.
- Conduct community needs surveys that are bilingual (Spanish/English) and culturally appropriate.
Broadband Project Financing
- Partner with or recommend firms to provide strategic engineering plans, financials, and construction services.
- Identify and secure financing for broadband projects.
- Research, write, and facilitate federal and state broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion grants.
- Research, write, and facilitate philanthropic grants and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) grants/investments from banks.
- Create blended financing and win-win capital stacks for all stakeholders.
- Create gap funds to complement federal/state infrastructure funding such as matching funds, planning grants, affordability gap funds for micro and small businesses, and construction financing and bridge loans for small business ISPs and co-ops.
- Secure matching grant funds when required, and help communities maximize the use of federal subsidies/programs.
- Design and deploy additional CRA financing tools as needed.
Digital Inclusion Programs
- Design, or co-design, and secure funding for digital inclusion programs for educational institutions (experiential learning-internships-apprenticeships), telehealth (including tele-mental health programs), workforce development, the financial services industry, entrepreneurship, older adults, and more.
- Digital inclusion programs may be designed as part of a larger broadband project or as stand-alone program targeted at addressing a specific underserved group, application, or opportunity.
Telehealth Programs
- Design telehealth solutions and programs for hospitals, community health clinics, and other providers, including connecting the patients and communities they need to serve.
- Telehealth programs may be designed as part of a regional broadband project or as stand-alone solution to address a specific underserved group, community, or condition.
Additional Services
- Assist communities to incorporate broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion into local/regional economic development plans.
- Educate on the intersection of broadband and the economy in the South Texas and the Greater Texas Border region focusing on local assets and conditions.
- Tutorials on the intersection of broadband infrastructure and the digital economy.
- Broadband and digital inclusion policy training and analysis of local solutions.
- Public relations, governmental relations, communications, strategic planning, and business development for organizations with a focus on broadband and digital inclusion.