Peter Murray: Connected Cities Tour Event in Miami-Dade

This is part 1 of a two-part series on the Connected Cities event in Miami-Dade County.

On February 5, 2025, leaders from the South Florida Government and Technology Community convened to discuss the role of Networks in the Innovation Cycle for Government, Businesses and Residents at the Connected Cities Tour Event held in Miami-Dade County.

Speakers from the Government Technology Sector included: Miami-Dade CIO, Margaret Brisbane, Fort Lauderdale, CIO Tamara McKey, Coral Gables CIO, Raimundo Rodulfo, and Coral Gables Police Chief, Edward Hudak.

Police Chief Hudak was emphatic on the role of technology in effective law enforcement. “When we built this new building, my number one request was to collocate our Information Technology team with our team so that we can leverage the benefits collaboratively and quickly when needed.”

Margaret Brisbane focused on how important collaboration with the community is to ensure all residents are not left behind. She expanded on the successes that her team has had over the past few years and described the impact of providing a computer to a resident that could not afford to buy one on their own. Ana Chammas, Director of Innovation, Miami-Dade County and Erica Alvarez, Community Engagement Manager, were recognized as the key leaders of Miami- Dade’s efforts to mitigate the digital divide.

Ana and Erica were joined for a panel discussion on Broadband and Digital Enablement by Jacob Sjostrom, Chief of Florida Broadband Initiatives and Maribel Martinez, a local Consultant, in a wide-ranging discussion of best practices and funding methods supported by grant funding and also through public private partnerships.

Of course, the first thing discussed was the upcoming round of Grant Funding under the Digital Equity Capacity Grant which Florida branded the Digital Adoption and Use Program. Jacob Sjostrom related that the State has ~$70 million available and will release approximately $40 million for grant funding in the late spring of 2025 and then a round of ~$15 million in 2026 and 2027.

He also highlighted that Florida has already awarded $707 million in grant awards and an additional $642 million in matching funds were provided by private entities. In total Florida has invested in 249 projects and has over $1.1 billion in BEAD funding to deploy over the next few years.

Miami-Dade has been one of the more active counties in the country in addressing the digital enablement needs of the community. They established a Local Technology Planning Team, comprising over 100 diverse stakeholders, to address digital enablement challenges such as affordability, improved broadband access, and enhanced digital literacy.

Together the effort has raised over $25 million in federal and state funding for broadband expansion and digital enablement initiatives. Their approach has been to meet people “where they are”. Some of their successes have included:

• Distributed over 10,000 digital devices (Chromebooks, hotspots and tablets) through the Miami-Dade County Library’s Mobile Device Lending Program.
• Raised $6.5 million in broadband funding to build Fiber to the Home services for 800 underserved residences and an additional 375 members of the Miccosukee Tribe.
• Deployed Innovative Wi Fi resources ranging from Technobus and parking lot drive up Wi-Fi which resulted in 790,000 remote connections.

Ana Chammas, discussed collaboration as essential to success. “Non-profit Partners like Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Miami-Dade College provide residents with access to tech hubs and learning labs that are accessible to people with special needs as well. Erica Alvarez shared that industry partners contribute expertise and funding and specifically mentioned the role Comcast played during the Covid health crisis and specifically their LIFT program which distributed 250 computers for use by non-profits and their members to enhance their digital skills and to apply for jobs and participate in remote learning and career training courses.

The day ended with an interactive workshop on best practices for deploying and sustaining digital enablement and broadband programs. Deborah Kish, VP, Fiber Broadband Association, reviewed their Optic Path program which is a curriculum of courses that upskills people into fiber technicians with core skills that range from basic fiber deployment to fiber splicing. FBA’s partner, The Learning Alliance CEO, Cesar Ruiz, described how they leverage the FBA curriculum and have 13 mobile training trailers they can deploy anywhere in the country to create a training lab environment to support the FBA curriculum.

As a fitting close, Jacob Sjostrom, detailed that $110 million would be allocated to Workforce Training programs specifically to scale the telecommunications broadband technician numbers throughout the state of Florida to support the greater than $2 billion investment made in the state for broadband infrastructure.

The Connected Cities Tour will stop in Silicon Valley on April 23, 2025.

Peter Murray is the CEO and President of Dense Networks. He has been General or Regional Manager at Verizon, MCI, Level 3, and Telcove. He has taught E Commerce and Technology for Competitive Advantage at Temple University and helped develop the Entrepreneurial program at the Community College of Philadelphia. This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.

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