NTIA released four case studies on the impact...

NTIA released four case studies on the impact of the more than $450 million in awards it has granted under its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program since 2010 for establishing or upgrading public computer centers and innovative broadband adoption programs in underserved communities, in a blog post (http://1.usa.gov/1ixJFwz) Friday. The investment has resulted in more than 3,000 new or improved public computer centers and produced 600,000 new household broadband subscriptions, said the agency. Released at a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition conference, the studies were done as part of an evaluation contract by research firm ASR Analytics. One study was done about Florida A&M University, which established a BTOP-funded Center for Public Computing and Workforce Development for Tallahassee and surrounding counties, said NTIA. The center has 80 new computers with broadband Internet connections, internal wireless access, and interactive video conferencing technology to provide both college classes and training for area businesses, said NTIA.