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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 Nativevillages 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.