Community Broadband Awards

What are the NATOA Community Broadband Awards?

In recognition of the broadening role of government in technology, NATOA proudly honors outstanding individuals and projects that seek to improve government and public options in broadband technology. This exceptional awards program was initiated to recognize and highlight some of the many extraordinary efforts going on at the local level to bring the benefits of technology to American communities. Throughout the United States, numerous exceptional leaders in government, business, organization and the community are serving as champions of local interests and needs in broadband and technology. NATOA’s Community Broadband Awards annually recognize these efforts and achievements. The Award recipients are highlighted on NATOA’s website.

What are the Award categories?

Awards are presented annually in the following SIX categories:

  • Community Broadband Hero of the Year - individual award
  • Community Broadband Visionary of the Year - individual award
  • Community Broadband Wireless Project of the Year
  • Community Broadband Fiber Project of the Year
  • Community Network of the Year
  • Community Broadband Organization of the Year

How do I nominate my community for a Community Broadband Award?

The nominee and/or nominator DOES NOT need to be a member of NATOA - these awards are designed to recognize the best of the best throughout the county.  Nominations will open in May of 2012 and should be submitted by August of 2012. There is a $100 fee per nomination for NATOA members and $150 fee per nomination for non-members.  2012 winners will be announced at the 2012 Annual Conference taking place September 26 - 29, 2012 in New Orleans, LA. If you have questions, please contact Joanne Hovis at (301) 933-1488 or jhovis@CTCnet.us. 

Who Are the Recipients for 2011?

Community Broadband Hero of the Year
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Catharine Rice, for their heroic efforts to stand up for the right of North Carolina localities to determine their broadband and economic futures.

Community Broadband Organization of the Year
The Greater Austin Area Telecommunications Network (known as the GAATN), a 15-year partnership among the City of Austin, Austin Independent School District, Travis County, Austin Community College, the University of Texas, State of Texas and Lower Colorado River Authority, in which 350 route miles of fiber connect 496 sites in the Austin area. This network serves as the foundation for public communications in the area and is renowned for being among the first networks to deliver 10gig connectivity to key community anchor sites, including health care, public safety, telemedicine, education, library services, and government efficiency. GAATN is the largest partnership of its kind in Texas.

Community Broadband Project of the Year
The combined efforts of Google, Kansas City MO, and Kansas City KS to demonstrate how collaborative efforts between public and private sector can enable construction of fiber to American homes and businesses.

Community Broadband Visionary of the Year
Council-person Bruce Harrell of Seattle for devising the Great Student Initiative, a partnership between the City and the private sector to provide low-cost, high-speed Internet access, hardware and software for low-income students in the Seattle Public School district.

Community Broadband Fiber Network of the Year
The One-Maryland Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN), a fiber middle mile network owned by 10 local governments that came together as a regional consortium to build public fiber that would be locally owned but regionally interconnected to maximize the benefits of the fiber capacity both for public sector use such as public safety and for private sector use to reach underserved areas that were previously too costly to access with last mile services.

Community Broadband Wireless Network of the Year
The City of Asheville, NC for deploying a wireless wide area network to replace the I-Net that was once provided at affordable cost but had become unacceptably costly as the result of state legislation benefiting the incumbent provider.  The City chose to build its own infrastructure to meet its public safety and public service needs and accomplished this goal in record time with no loss of service to users.

Click here for a list of 2010 Award Winners.
Click here for a list of 2009 Award Winners.
Click here for a list of 2008 Award Winners.
Click here for a list of 2007 Award Winners.