In this video interview from May’s SHLB-NTIA Conference, president and CEO of Quilt member MCNC Joe Freddoso does a great job of describing the private sector impact of BTOP grants to research & education networks.
In MCNC’s case, they passed through $143 out of $144 million in BTOP grant funds to private sector companies, such as engineering firms and makers of fiber-optic cable and conduit. Joe describes a conduit plant in Hickory, North Carolina that had been idled and is now back online, employing several hundred people, thanks to business from MCNC and other BTOP award winners.