Report shows that Van Wert lags in Broadband usage

Over the past 15 years, the gap between local and global communities and commerce has closed dramatically. Part of that has been the continuing rise of the Internet and all the benefits that it promises - instantaneous contact with visual and graphic capabilities which allows business and educational people to react as if they were in the same room and not across the country from each other. Of course, none of that is possible without the high speed backbone of Broadband technology.

It is no secret that the Ohio government has been trying to diversify the state's workforce and introduce more industries that do not rely so heavily upon the automotive and manufacturing sectors. With that in mind, the Gov. Ted Strickland's administration set a statewide initiative to see where each of Ohio's 88 counties stand in regards to Broadband technology. Connect Ohio recently released the report for Van Wert County and the results were made available to the public...

Increased Internet availability focus of task force

SPRINGFIELD — A small group of concerned Clark County citizens has committed to improving county-wide broadband Internet availability and the community’s technology IQ.

The Clark County eCommunity Leadership Team, formed as part of Connect Ohio, has already assessed the area’s technology needs, and met Wednesday, July 29, to begin the project planning phase...

Connected Nation launches tool that tracks availability on the census block level | Speed Matters – Internet Speed Test

Speed Matters partner Connected Nation has launched a new tool to assist applicants for broadband stimulus funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The interactive map shows broadband availability down to the Census Block level.

This tool was initially rolled out with the Connected Tennessee and Connect Ohio broadband availability maps. The tool is open to the general public, though state leaders, broadband providers, and broadband advocates will find it most useful. Users can look at any Census Block within Tennessee and Ohio to find the number of served and unserved households.

Delaware Co. dashes for fiber network cash - Business First of Columbus:

When Motorists Insurance Group in May disclosed plans to build a $14 million, 18,000-square-foot data center in New Albany, Gus Comstock realized Delaware County was missing a weapon in its economic development arsenal.

“We’ve been talking to companies about moving to Delaware, and fiber (optic cable) keeps coming up again and again,” said the county’s economic development chief and former director of economic development for the city of Delaware. “We just can’t compete...”

Ohio residents without broadband are being urged to seek federal funds to get connected

From his home just 19 miles south of Columbus in Ashville, Randy Hopkins can see the city skyline. That makes it even more frustrating that he can't get reliable high-speed broadband service for his home-based software business, ProSystems Consulting.

Hopkins has "line-of-sight" service -- essentially a satellite system that relies on a signal bounced off an electronic repeater attached to a nearby grain silo. At night, the system slows to a crawl when too many people log on...

Getting wired for the future - Part two

Mention the term broadband in Madison County, and 47 percent of county residents claim they don’t need broadband or don’t understand its benefit. That’s what Connect Ohio has found in research it conducted in 2008.

Connect Ohio is a high-tech nonprofit initiative formed to bring broadband service to areas in the Buckeye state that are not served or are under served by the technology. It is part of Connected Nation, a nonprofit 501 (3) (c) organization in Washington that works with communities, states, and technology providers to develop and implement technology expansion programs for areas lacking in full broadband coverage...

Getting wired for the future

Some parts of Madison County have it; some don’t. But this county is not alone in a predicament that the rapid advance of high technology has created. It is a situation in which all 88 counties in the Buckeye state find themselves.

Strangely enough, the nation’s financial crisis has offered a solution via Washington’s manna of its multi-billion dollar economic stimulus program...

Broadband coverage maps give competitive advantage for stimulus package funds

Broadband coverage maps created with geographic information system (GIS) technology are providing a competitive advantage during the funding application process for $4 billion in broadband grants and loans available through the U.S. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The maps are produced with the help of Connected Nation, a nonprofit corporation, using ArcGIS technology from ESRI. Several states already have the maps in hand to provide applicants with strong, detailed support for their cases.

Connected Nation develops broadband landscape maps that identify areas with broadband service gaps and has worked with seven states (Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia), with others under development. The maps use ArcGIS technology to combine service data from broadband providers with household demographic information to create a complete picture of current broadband coverage gaps and development potential at the street, household, and census block levels. ESRI’s Web-enabled ArcGIS Server makes it possible to share interactive maps on the Internet, which gives service providers, businesses, and consumers a way to easily access the broadband coverage information. Connected Nation also offers a telephone hotline for consumers without Internet access. Having served as the archetype for the Broadband Data Improvement Act state initiative grant program, Connected Nation’s proven programs are seamlessly aligned with the goals and guidelines of ARRA...

Sen. Brown, others to discuss broadband funding at workshop

Sen. Sherrod Brown, the United States Department of Agriculture and Connect Ohio are teaming up for a workshop on broadband funding opportunities in Columbus next Mon., July 27. Sen. Brown will be joined by USDA Under Secretary of Rural Development Dallas Tonsager and Connect Ohio Executive Director Tom Fritz. They’ll discuss competitive funding opportunities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The event will be held at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center on Fred Taylor Dr. Registration begins at 10 a.m.

Sub Techs: Henchmen?

So don't know if you've seen it, but techdirt has an illuminating piece by Paul Masnick, who is largely sympathetic with Art Brodsky's (valedictory?!) rant aginst Connected Nation. Masnick first makes this overwrought claim about Connected Nation:

First, it's just a "mapping" organization and it's run by the telcos themselves, allowing them to continue to fudge the data to make markets look a lot more competitive than they really are. And, yet, thanks to all the political love that goes out to Connected Nation, it looks like they're about to get hundreds of millions of dollars in broadband stimulus money.

Of course, it's disappointing that Connected Nation continues to be seen by its critics as merely a front for the telcos. But the larger disappointment is, without belaboring the point, this characterization of Connected Nation's work completely fails to acknowledge that Connected Nation believes mapping to be only the first step in improving broadband. In states like Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky the map has only been stage one run in tandem with statewide, county-by-county planning efforts that foster local empowerment and decision-making focused both on improving demand and channeling that demand toward feasible, meaningful, local improvements in supply. After swallowing the bromide against Connected Nation hook, line, and sinker without critically engaging the organization's actual work or its results, Masnick then ends with this little bit of confusion...

Mapping Tools to help with NTIA/RUS applications « Blandin on Broadband

The folks at Connected Nation sent me the following news – but the best part is that they plan to make these tools available in Minnesota too (maybe we’ll see it this week). The Connected Nation folks are smart. They know how to appeal to legislators.

So I have every reason to think that this info is exactly what the NTIA/RUS want to see. I hope that having this tool in Minnesota will make it easier for folks in Minnesota to apply for funds...

Columbiana Co. seeks more broadband service - Local & Regional News - Vindy.com, The Vindicator

LISBON — The Columbiana County commissioners plan to join a coalition to bring more broadband Internet service to the county.

Commissioners Penny Traina and Jim Hoppel said Friday they plan to vote to next week to become one of 32 counties to apply for funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...

Broadband coverage maps give competitive advantage for stimulus package funds

Broadband coverage maps created with geographic information system (GIS) technology are providing a competitive advantage during the funding application process for $4 billion in broadband grants and loans available through the U.S. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The maps are produced with the help of Connected Nation, a nonprofit corporation, using ArcGIS technology from ESRI. Several states already have the maps in hand to provide applicants with strong, detailed support for their cases.

Connected Nation develops broadband landscape maps that identify areas with broadband service gaps and has worked with seven states (Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia), with others under development...

Broadband coverage maps give competitive advantage for stimulus package funds

Broadband coverage maps created with geographic information system (GIS) technology are providing a competitive advantage during the funding application process for $4 billion in broadband grants and loans available through the U.S. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The maps are produced with the help of Connected Nation, a nonprofit corporation, using ArcGIS technology from ESRI.

Connected Nation develops broadband landscape maps that identify areas with broadband service gaps and has worked with seven states (Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia), with others under development. The maps use ArcGIS technology to combine service data from broadband providers with household demographic information to create a complete picture of current broadband coverage gaps and development potential at the street, household, and census block levels...

Connect Ohio presentation on broadband stimulus application process. | Citizens for Preble County

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 7, 2009, Connect Ohio held a “webinar” about funding availability for rural broadband. The PowerPoint presentation of that online presentation is available in a .pdf file here. Anyone that was not aware of it, or did not have the time to watch it, can review the presentation at their leisure by downloading the file.
Of note on Page 6 is the inclusion of “For Profit Firms” in the application process...

Don't expect a new phone book this fall | NBC4i.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio —It shows up on your doorstep every year. You never ask for it. It’s just there.

Until now.

Now, if you want a new phone book, you’re going to have to make some special arrangements...

In Minnesota and Ohio, Connected Nation make strides in broadband assessments | Speed Matters – Internet Speed Test

In Ohio and Minnesota, Connected Nation groups just released updated maps on broadband availability and survey data on broadband adoption. Such assessments are crucial as states and others vie for funding for broadband expansion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Connected Ohio's Technology Assessment found that since 2008 broadband adoption in Ohio increased from 55 percent to 62 percent. Ninety-five percent of Ohioans are able to buy Internet speeds of at least 786 kilobits per second, the speed of a basic DSL connection. That's up 3 percent from last year, according to the Connected Ohio report. Connected Ohio collected information from 76 Internet service providers in the state...

Funds awarded for SE Ohio broadband network

GALLIPOLIS — The expansion of broadband Internet to southeast Ohio recently made significant strides towards the provision of networks to both the healthcare industry and area residents.

The Southern Ohio Health Care Network (SOHCN) recently announced the award of an $18 million FCC-funded contract to Horizon Telcom for construction of a state-of-the-art fiber optic network across thirteen counties in southern Ohio, including Gallia.

The OABC is requesting input from the E Community Groups established by Connect Ohio to ensure that all community needs have been identified and prioritized. In addition to OABC focus on bringing broadband to households and small businesses, the OABC plan considers it essential that all healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and government entities have broadband availability at a level that meets their needs...

Funds awarded for SE Ohio broadband network

GALLIPOLIS — The expansion of broadband Internet to southeast Ohio recently made significant strides towards the provision of networks to both the healthcare industry and area residents.

The Southern Ohio Health Care Network (SOHCN) recently announced the award of an $18 million FCC-funded contract to Horizon Telcom for construction of a state-of-the-art fiber optic network across thirteen counties in southern Ohio, including Gallia.

The OABC is requesting input from the E Community Groups established by Connect Ohio to ensure that all community needs have been identified and prioritized. In addition to OABC focus on bringing broadband to households and small businesses, the OABC plan considers it essential that all healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and government entities have broadband availability at a level that meets their needs...