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TOP Announces $13.9 Million in New Awards
The Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) awards for FY 2000 went to 35 organizations in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Recipients are located in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, California (3 awards), Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts (2), Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico (2), New York (2), North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon (2), South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee (2), Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. The $13.9 million in federal funds will be matched by $18 million raised by the grant recipients from their project partners and sponsors.
TOP, formerly known as the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program, is part of the Clinton Administration's strategy to help overcome the Digital Divide in America. TOP grants help to realize the vision of an information society by demonstrating practical applications of new telecommunications and information technologies to serve the public interest.
Grants for FY2000, selected from a pool of 662 applications, include a number of projects developed by smaller, locally-based organizations, including tribal organizations, an Hispanic-serving institution, and other community-based organizations.
The projects employ a variety of technologies for the transmission, organization, and presentation of information. Advanced network technologies are represented by broadband Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services and emerging wireless communications technologies. More than half of the projects for FY2000 focus either exclusively on rural communities or include a significant project component with a rural emphasis.
TOP is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Project descriptions for all of the FY 2000 grants and the 662 applications are available at the NTIA web site: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top/index.html