After state demands too much of the organization...
Given they've got the lobbying support of K Street juggernauts Verizon and AT&T, Connected Nation has had an easy time getting the inside track on broadband mapping funds in states like
Minnesota and
Florida, despite often submitting more expensive bids. But in their home state of Kentucky, where the group (to the local public's surprise) once proclaimed they were responsible for giving the state
94% broadband coverage, Connected Nation has ditched their bid to map the state. Why? Art Brodsky over at
Public Knowledge has an idea:
...the Commonwealth wanted the vendor to work with all providers, and two of those significant sectors - cable and municipals - are not happy with the telephone-dominated nature of Connected Nation. It's also worth noting that the Kentucky state government, aware of the criticism of Connect Kentucky's efforts, was planning a very strict follow-up procedure for the stimulus mapping program.
Connected Nation has been under fire for being little more than a baby bell policy vehicle that takes taxpayer cash to shine up broadband deployment statistics for AT&T and Verizon. It's interesting to note that even cable operators of late have
been critical of Connected Nation in Kentucky. While Kentucky wants verifiable data and carrier inclusiveness, they're apparently in the minority among the states being wooed by Connected Nation.
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Why CN bailing on Kentucky?