Mozilla Unveils Grants for Austin Broadband Projects

Mozilla announced $150,000 in grants for education tech projects in Austin, Texas, that take advantage of the city’s Google Fiber network. In August, Austin will join other cities with gigabit connectivity set to receive cash from the Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund, a joint initiative with the National Science Foundation and US Ignite, Mozilla said Tuesday on its blog. Mozilla also will establish Gigabit Hive Austin, a web literacy network of individuals, schools, nonprofits, museums and other local organizations, it said. “Selected from a list of contenders from across the country, Austin stood out due to its existing city-wide digital inclusion plan, active developer community, and growing informal education landscape,” Mozilla Executive Director Mark Surman said. “When you couple lightning-fast Internet with innovative projects in the realms of education and workforce development, amazing things can happen.” In other Mozilla Gigabit cities -- Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Kansas City, Missouri -- projects include real-time water monitoring systems and 3D learning tools for classrooms, Mozilla said. Applications for grants open in August and will be accepted through Oct. 18. Mozilla plans to expand to two more cities over the next two years, it said.