Grants
DeKalb Advancement Technology Authority (DATA) Project
In February 2010, the DeKalb County Government was awarded a $15 million grant to benefit 111 community anchor institutions and business in DeKalb County with a 130-mile fiber-optic network. The DeKalb Advancement Technology Authority (DATA) project replicates the successful NIUNet model.
NIU is a contributing partner of the DATA project and will be granting fiber to assist community anchor institutions. With the ability to connect all of these institutions to NIU, the result is a “virtual sandbox” with endless possibilities for research and collaboration in the region.
Through the DATA project, NIU will also connect the NIU Wellness and Literacy Center on Bethany Road and the main campus, providing redundancy for NIU data centers.
Illinois Broadband Opportunities Partnership (IBOP)
NIU and the State of Illinois joined to minimize duplication of efforts and maximize dollars with the Illinois Broadband Opportunities Partnership (IBOP). A $68.5 million grant was awarded to create IBOP-South, IBOP-East Central, IBOP-West, IBOP-North West and IBOP North East, covering 9 Illinois counties and connecting 533 anchor institutions.
NIU took the lead for the IBOP-NW grant, overseeing the details and replicating the NIUNet and DATA models throughout.
Illinois Rural Healthnet (IRHN)
One of the goals of NIUNet is to provide high-speed communications between healthcare organizations. With the highly urban presence of NIUNet, hospitals west of I-39 into the western suburbs of Chicago will have the ability to utilize NIUNet and access statewide Health Information Exchanges.
The Illinois Rural HealthNet (IRHN) was created through a $22 million federal grant to connect over 150 health care facilities in Illinois.