BetterWorld Awarded $2.5M Grant From U.S. Commerce Department/NTIA

We try not to toot our own horn much in the BetterBlog and keep the focus on our customers and partners, but hard to resist here as we got a great affirmation in last week on the BetterWork front. As part of the National Telecommunications Information Administration’s (NTIA) stimulus program, BetterWorld was awarded a $2.5M grant to roll out BetterWork in the U.S. Virgin Islands, here’s an excerpt from our upcoming press release:

{BetterWorld Telecom has partnered with the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority to establish a virtual call center that will identify, train and recruit teleworkers in the Virgin Islands & match them up with virtual call center jobs in the U.S. This project is a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act initiative funding administered by the NTIA for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

Specifically, this Sustainable Broadband Adoption (SBA) Program grant focuses on increasing broadband Internet usage and adoption, including among vulnerable populations where broadband technology traditionally has been underutilized. The USVI Bureau of Economic research reports the 23.7% of the Virgin Island population are living below the poverty line as a result of unemployment and low-paying service jobs. This project will assist in the creation of over 400 new energy-saving telework jobs, which could significantly increase as other funding sources become available.

“In a globalized 21st century economy, when you don’t have regular access to high-speed Internet, you don’t have access to all the educational, business and employment opportunities it provides,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Locke says in response to these Recovery Act investments. “These critical Recovery Act investments will create jobs and lay the groundwork for long-term sustainable economic growth in communities across America.

From the U.S. Commerce Press Release: “The Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority has formed a public-private partnership with a wide range of broadband-related entities as part of its viNGN network. This comprehensive effort intends to provide digital literacy and job skills training, launch a telework program, and conduct a multifaceted outreach campaign to increase broadband subscribership and stimulate job growth in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Project partner BetterWorld Telecom plans to establish a virtual call center for use by large companies throughout the United States that will recruit teleworkers in the Virgin Islands. The project also proposes to maintain an electronic database and job bank that would be available to local and national employers, documenting key information about program participants who wish to be included, including courses taken, class-hours spent, tests passed, and certifications achieved.”

“This is just the beginning, our belief and mission at BetterWorld is to put telecom services and applications at the forefront of job creation, environmental sustainability and economic growth in the United States and U.S. Territories, noted Matt Bauer, President and Co-Founder of BetterWorld Telecom. “The entire BetterWorld team is excited to bring our Industry-leading BetterWork™ framework to the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of this stimulus grant from the NTIA. Training our workforce for broadband jobs and the ability to work from home or anywhere/anytime, is better for business, better for the environment and will provide hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of much-needed jobs to our citizens in the coming years.” added Bauer.}