Project history and background

Remote work, telemedicine, banking and other vital services deeply rely on a broadband Internet connection at home. However, there is a very large number (around 17 million in 2022) of United States residents who cannot fully use these services due to a lack of basic Internet access. US Ignite, with financial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF Award #CNS – 2044448) and Schmidt Futures created Project OVERCOME to understand the strengths and weaknesses of novel broadband solutions available to expand Internet access to underserved and unserved communities.

Map with the 7 Project OVERCOME awardees

Seven communities were selected to be recipients of Project OVERCOME grants and received funding to rapidly design, build, and deploy proof-of-concept networks to connect the unconnected within one to two years. The results achieved by Project OVERCOME illustrate the vast possibilities for rural and urban communities to bridge the digital divide with innovative technologies. 

More information is available in the Project OVERCOME booklet, prepared by US Ignite with the participation of the awardees.

A brief summary of five of the other initiatives is provided below:

• DIGITALC, Cleveland, Ohio

  • DigitalC connected an apartment community and surrounding homes using a private LTE over CBRS solution. The project provided local technical support and device purchase assistance to residents.

• MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Clinton County, Missouri

  • The team from Missouri S&T installed a millimeter wave connection to a grain elevator, the tallest structure available to enable wireless LTE with Ubiquiti gear. Partners included United Electric Cooperative and their subsidiary United Fiber, as well as the University of Missouri Extension.

• THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY ASSOCIATION, Yonkers, New York

  • The Westchester County Association (WCA) combined strategic partnerships across municipalities, nonprofits, and for-profit companies to connect underserved neighborhoods with a CBRS network. Community-based staff also educated residents on their devices and using the Internet.

• ONWARD EUGENE, Blue River, Oregon

  • The project team rebuilt the Internet infrastructure in the wake of a natural disaster by deploying a resilient wireless link to rural McKenzie Valley with fiber backhaul. This project also piloted a CBRS education network to test how well the wireless solution performs in a rural and highly forested setting.

• LIBRARIES WITHOUT BORDERS, Loiza, Puerto Rico

  • Libraries Without Borders US and its partners installed broadband connectivity and mesh networks in and around three community centers in Loíza. They also provided digital literacy and health programming for community members.