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 Project Title : Healthy Villages Broadband Adoption Program

 

Contacts: Fletcher Brown: Email fbrown AT drs-ds.com  PH 406 270 8849

 

                Frank Odasz, Lone Eagle Consulting Email: Frank AT lone-eagles.com PH 406 683 6270

 

2-B. Project Description:
ARRA success stories will be quickly generated by 42 remote Alaskan Native

villages who will receive public broadband training centers using advanced satellite systems with IP HDMulticast and Smart Content Caching. Daily updates of extensive content and multiplatform fast broadband “live” and play-on-demand training will prepare all anchor institution staff for planned terrestrial broadband.

 

C. Executive Summary

 

7. Executive Summary of Overall Proposal:

Statement of the Problem: Within Interior Alaska most communities are inaccessible by

road and are totally without terrestrial broadband services. Residents are unaware of the power

and potential of broadband and its critical role in the future economic and social development

of the community. Alaska’s rural population suffers from significantly low national rankings

in both health and education and unemployment rates are some of the highest in the country.

The lack of opportunity results in behavioral health problems, substance abuse and double the

national rate of teen suicide. As the world changes to knowledge based economies, access to

broadband and effective training will provide opportunity to rapidly and radically improve this

situation.

 

Applicant Qualifications: The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is a native corporation

representing 42 remote Athabascan villages in a vast region the size of the state of Washington.

TCC is a regional private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation operating under the Tribal

Authority of Interior region of Alaska since 1971.

 

Our Innovative Approach: This program is bold and comprehensive. It touches every one of

the ARRA and NTIA legislative objectives. The Healthy Villages Program is ready to

immediately deploy our solution combining technical excellence and world class training

concepts. Because of our experience in similar technology deployments globally, we can

deploy and begin training in 27 of the remote villages in 90 days! This project will generate

early success stories for the administration’s social objectives and will serve as a replicable

model to improve the lives of people in other remote locations.

 

In advance of terrestrial broadband being brought to these remote communities we will:

 

1) Provide a unique program to bring satellite-based broadband training to all anchorinstitution staff in 42 villages.

Advanced satellite technology upgrades to existing systems will

focus on very high speed (10Mbps+) IP multicast to allow pushing enormous quantities of live

and recorded HD training materials at low relative cost.

 

2) Establish a training center in all 42 villages equipped with a multimedia virtual training

system to become the focal point for broadband best practices training and content directed to

the anchor institutions, businesses, residents, and vulnerable populations. At the heart of all

Healthy Village training will be engaging all generations in growing an entrepreneurial culture

to create sustainable jobs, economies, and villages.

 

3) Each training center will be equipped with intelligent content caching, bi-directional video

and audio, a collaboration server to support virtual classrooms, HD monitors, audio speakers, a

wireless access point, and computers for the use of the citizens being trained. All of this will

be run and managed remotely from the hub at TCC headquarters in Fairbanks.

 

4) We will hire and train a person in each village as the training/technical coordinator. This

person will manage the training facility, provide support and be mentored on-line to become

the village expert in broadband applications.

 

5) At TCC headquarters in Fairbanks we will create a video production studio for creating

high quality video and web-based training. This studio will have both real and virtual sets and

be equipped to develop live and recorded training programs. Through the TCC satellite “hub”

many simultaneous training programs can be multicast to all 42 village training centers.

Training will be done in single village and multiple village sessions.

 

6) We will assemble a highly qualified staff to develop, deliver and coordinate training with

other agencies in areas of Broadband, Safety, Health, Education, Economic Development and

Children’s programs. Federal, state, health and educational institutions can be linked to the

“hub” studio via Internet to provide training from their own locations. The advanced

technologies allow for any number of training providers, and virtually unlimited volume of the

highest quality content.

 

7) The Healthy Village National Broadband Campaign will establish virtual learning

communities to identify, gather, and disseminate broadband best practices. The campaign will

share unique digital inclusion training programs and processes for individuals, communities, states,

and tribal nations through the web-based “Broadband Best Practices Clearinghouse for

Sustainable Families,” currently hosted by our project training partner, Lone Eagle Consulting,

and listed on the FCC Indians web site.

 

The campaign will inspire Americans by sharing the Healthy Village Program’s unique success

stories nationally through the combined outreach power of TV, Internet video, and Internet

social media. We will also reach 150,000 Alaskan households, distributing our training

through KACN-TV via broadcast and cable, including thousands of remote village homes via

satellite TV distribution (Dish Network and Direct TV).

 

Project Partners: DRS Technical Services Inc. is a leading supplier of communication

technology and services to military forces and intelligence agencies worldwide and supports

telehealth and virtual education in the most remote areas on the globe. Lone Eagle Consulting

has a 24-year track record of E-learning innovation specific to rural and indigenous broadband

applications training.

 

Job Creation: Our project will create sixty two (62) new positions in the Studio, Network

Operations, Training Development and Community Trainers, and untold new jobs in related

services nationally.