This entry was written by James E. Osteen, Jr. executive director of the Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition.

The Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition officially opened its doors with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Aug. 11.

The launch was the result of more than three years of planning with stakeholders in education, healthcare, government, non-profits and the private sector. The task has been challenging but immensely rewarding.

Our goal is to increase the “technology quota” of our community, in order’to attract new industries and provide economic and educational opportunities for Miami-Dade County residents.’ By banding together, the coalition’s anchor members have already begun to increase the availability of ‘high-speed Internet access across our community while at the same time lowering its cost.

A portion of the realized savings will be reinvested in the community through the coalition’s sponsorship of training and Internet connectivity for our underserved neighborhoods. ‘The coalition is funded by a grant from Knight Foundation, as part of its efforts to ensure communities have access to information through universal broadband.

While our goal is ambitious, our success will provide a more resilient, diverse and self-sustaining local economy. ‘We invite you to watch our progress through our website, and hope that you will join us in ‘Connecting our community for a brighter future!!’

– ‘James E. Osteen, Jr.