Keenwire was proud to have assisted Rivada Sea Lion through the rigorous Round 1 BIP grant application process in early 2009. The company competed for selection among 2,200 US applicants and was announced as part of an initial group of 19 awardees under this particular phase of the US Department of Agriculture’s RUS Grant Program.
Rivada was successfully awarded a $31M grant as part of a winning Last Mile Proposal under USDA BIP Round 1 to provide service to 90,000 square miles of Southwestern Alaska.
Rivada Sea Lion was selected to deliver unprecedented low cost, high speed broadband and Public Safety Interoperability to 53 technology-challenged communities of Southwestern Alaska. The project is designed to dramatically enhance service to community centers, schools, medical clinics and Public Safety organizations. The project will involve a unique combination of wireless technologies to cope with the harsh climatic conditions of Alaska while delivering leading edge connectivity.
In Round 1 of the ARRA Grant, Rivada Sea Lion developed a comprehensive plan to deliver high-speed Internet service to 53 remote villages and communities in Southwestern Alaska. This plan was focused on the creation of new jobs and opportunities for the residents of these un-served areas of Alaska. The solution is a proven hybrid wireless solution already in use in Civil and Federal Public Safety applications around the country. Rivada Sea Lion uses dedicated Satellite service to targeted key base stations and then delivers high-speed Internet service out to the rural areas using IEEE 802.16 (WiMax) and IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) technologies.