Three-day event in Dallas will focus on expanding, promoting high-speed wireless Internet

Connect Ohio’s Public Adoption Through Libraries/Every Community Online Adoption Project will receive $6.9 million, which will offer free computer training sessions at public libraries and community colleges throughout Ohio and will introduce new users to a wide range of communication, education, and healthcare tools available online.

The project is funded through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Connect Ohio’s two-year program provides the necessary equipment, training, technical support, and public awareness components to create publicly accessible training sessions in Ohio’s public libraries and community colleges, educating new computer users and helping them take advantage of the powerful social and economic tools available through high-speed Internet service.

The project is expected to immediately create 136 jobs, train 209,000 consumers over two years, and inspire a total of 75,000 new households to adopt broadband in their daily lives. Public computing capacity will also be enhanced by the placement of more than 2,000 new public computers that will be distributed to dozens of public library and community college locations across the state along with the necessary curriculum to be used in the training program.

To read the full project summary, visit the NTIA website.

In Tennessee, the work to connect the entire state just received a major boost, thanks to $2.3 million in federal funding.

Today, Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program was awarded $2.3 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

The Computers 4 Kids grant will be used in efforts to increase sustainable broadband adoption and provide computers and training to nearly 60,000 disadvantaged youth across Tennessee.

Specifically, the project intends to focus on economically vulnerable youth in Tennessee by deploying laptops, academic support programs, and workforce training to two disparate, but especially at-risk populations: those in the state’s foster care system that are “aging out” as they turn 18 and youth that are active in the state’s 76 Boys & Girls Clubs.

The project plans to provide younger children in the Boys & Girls Clubs with broadband access in a safe environment via its Club Tech program, supported by software provider Microsoft.

“This project is going to connect thousands of Tennessee young people who would otherwise not have access to the vast resources afforded by a high-speed Internet connection,” said Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. “The project will create new educational opportunities and provide vital career training that will empower youth with the tools they need to achieve their goals in a way not previously available to them.”

Already, Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program has donated more than 2,000 computers to children, families, and communities throughout Tennessee.

To read the project description, visit the NTIA website.

In Greenup County, Kentucky, Melinda Spears and her two teenage daughters have never had an opportunity to connect to affordable high-speed Internet.

“I have a daughter in high school and, well have you tried to do anything on the computer via dialup lately?” Spears wrote to ConnectKentucky. “It's excruciatingly slow if it even works at all. Needless to say, she is unable to do any of her computer based schoolwork at home. In this day of technology, citizens are literally handicapped without the use of the Internet for everything from entertainment to information to education to contacting your representatives.”

However, thanks to grassroots efforts from public officials, private industry, local residents, and ConnectKentucky, Spears, her daughters, and her neighborhood are now benefiting from affordable high-speed Internet.

In a time where connectivity continues to be an issue in many rural areas in all states, Spears’ story is all too common. Her neighborhood is small — just 17 or so families. It’s on the border of two counties — Greenup and Boyd. Spears called her neighborhood, which runs along Brookefield Farm Road, the “Bermuda Triangle of Greenup County.”

Based on a suggestion from State Rep. Tanya Pullin (D-District 98), Spears contacted ConnectKentucky, who suggested that Spears gather a group of neighbors interested in broadband service. She did just that and, in May, Foundation Telecommunications, Inc. (FTI) started providing Spears and her neighbors with high-speed service.

Rep. Pullin was pleased.

“I have been working to expand broadband service to our area for years. Because we are largely a rural area, several different ways to deliver high-speed Internet are needed to meet the needs of the residents here. Since FTI’s technology seems to work well, it may help to provide high-speed Internet to other rural parts of our county, too,” Rep. Pullin said. “I applaud Mrs. Spears and her neighbors for taking an active role in making this solution work. I also commend ConnectKentucky for their creativity in finding this high-speed Internet solution.”

For Spears and her neighbors, the new broadband service is working beautifully and they couldn’t be more excited.

“We were at the end of our rope. Our daughter had a new computer, but she was not using it. We are really happy with the new broadband service and others I have talked with are also pleased,” Spears said. “FTI was very persistent in dealing with the weather challenges in setting up the system. It is a whole different world being able to use broadband.”

On Wednesday, Aug. 4, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service Broadband Initiatives Program awarded five Ohio broadband projects. The $14.4 million in broadband infrastructure funding will infuse jobs and enhance broadband capacity in several rural counties.

Among the recipients is New Era Broadband, which worked with Connected Nation and its state-based organization, Connect Ohio, to apply for the funding to bring service to nearly 3,500 unserved residents in rural Meigs County.

According to Connect Ohio’s research, approximately one in five Meigs County households cannot access high-speed Internet service. With this new grant, that’s all about to change. The funds will be used over the next 24 months for a last-mile infrastructure project which will provide fixed-point to multi-point wireless broadband service to increase the county’s broadband capacity and help create jobs.

"(The) decision is a major win for residents of Meigs County," New Era Broadband Company President Brien Burke said. "We're pleased to be able to bring affordable high-speed Internet service to nearly 3,500 residents and businesses there. The award will also provide future jobs and economic opportunities for Meigs County, which will have access to less expensive, higher-speed Internet service."

County commissioners, community leaders, and local partners were instrumental in collaborating with the Meigs County-based fixed wireless provider on the proposal. See: Pomeroy Daily Sentinel - Firm doubles service as part of ‘county broadband plan’

"We helped New Era identify the unserved areas of Meigs County, conducted propagation and path profile studies, and assisted them in obtaining a lease on the McKenzie Ridge MARCS tower," said Chip Spann, Connected Nation’s director of engineering and technical services. "The initial engineering design was provided as part of New Era's grant application and we’ve continued to offer consulting support along the way. It’s been a win-win for New Era and the citizens of Meigs County."

To learn more, visit www.connectohio.org.

Foster Braun, host of the WJR-AM radio program Internet Advisor, interviewed Connected Nation’s CEO Brian Mefford who described the national non-profit’s model for working from state to state to facilitate public-private partnerships and Connect Michigan’s initiative to assist Michiganders in their efforts to plan for and use technology to improve the way citizens work and live.

“Any trip begins with a good map” was the travel metaphor he used to emphasize the significance of the Connect Michigan broadband map roll out in the state.

He explained how the maps are the first means for examining where efforts need to be focused and pointed out that providers need to know where gaps exist. “They know their service territories but not their competitors: said Mefford. “ A provider might not be aware of new neighborhoods that no one has provided access to yet. We see a lot of private sector investment flow immediately when this kind of market intelligence becomes available”.

To hear the podcast of this interview, go to http://www.wjr.com/goout.asp?u=http://www.internetadvisor.net

To visit the Connect Michigan Web site go to
http://www.connectmi.org.

The Connected Nation team is leading a fundraising campaign aimed at helping some of the world’s poorest children.

Destiny Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was founded in 2005 by an Ethiopian couple named Hareg and Yonatan to give some of the poorest children in the city the opportunity to get a quality education. The school has shown rapid growth since its establishment. Today, it employs 42 staff and educates more than 400 students in grades K-8. To help those that cannot afford schooling, Destiny formed a sponsorship program where forty kids are currently attending free of charge and given money for medicine and food thanks to the generosity of others. In a country where 42% of the population has access to clean water, 39% live on less than $1.25 per day, and only 36% of adults can read, Destiny Academy is paving the way for a better future.

This summer, Destiny is raising funds for an exciting project to establish a fully functioning computer lab at the school. The lab will have 7 computers, 2 printers, computer desks, network and Internet access. To make this happen the school needs $4,000. In Hareg’s words, “Setting up the computer lab will serve as a bridge to connect the students with the present technology.
It will give them access to the rest of the world. To the majority it will be a unique opportunity to touch a computer. We believe education is the only way out of poverty and deprivation.”

Connected Nation Communications Director Jessica Ditto is currently in Ethiopia volunteering at the school. Inspired by her efforts, the Connected Nation team is collecting funds for the computer lab.

To learn more about Destiny Academy, click here.

Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program recently celebrated its Perry County: One Year Later milestone event, where the spotlight was on the impressive progress Perry County has made since partnering with Connected Tennessee and AT&T one year ago to bring increased technology and opportunity to Perry County.

Last June, working with AT&T, Computers 4 Kids proudly donated 20 computers, four printers and two scanners to Perry County’s “Vision Perry” Summer Youth Employment Program.

Since the donation of the computers one year ago, the unemployment rate in Perry County has dropped from highest in the state and second highest in the nation at 27.4% down a remarkable ten percentage points to 17%.

To learn more about this program, view a press release here and read the Buffalo River Review's coverage of the event.

A screen shot of Connect Nevada's new online mapping app.

Reno, NV – Nevada’s new, powerful broadband map application is now available to everyone online. In an effort to bring quality, high-speed Internet to the entire state, Connect Nevada and the governor’s Broadband Task Force unveiled the cutting-edge mapping technology in a live demonstration on the University of Nevada – Reno campus.

Government and community leaders across all sectors including agriculture, IT, healthcare, and education gathered to learn about the new map and its uses for broadband planning. The live demonstration and simultaneous webinar walked participants through the many ways Nevada’s new broadband map can be fully customized to meet any viewer’s needs. Connect Nevada staff and Nevada Broadband Task Force Chairperson Daphne DeLeon walked attendees through exercises ranging from finding broadband providers at a specific address to viewing unserved Nevada neighborhoods by satellite and then printing or e-mailing maps with customized information.

“In today’s digital world, being connected to the Internet is critical to preserving and improving lifestyle,” said DeLeon. “Whether you live in a rural or urban area, high-speed Internet enables access to quality jobs, information, and vital services ranging from interactive telemedicine to higher education. Broadband gives you the opportunity to work from home, take online classes, and market your products - all of which have a positive impact on the local economy. Yet, for thousands of Nevada residents, affordable access to high-speed Internet is still not available.”

The newly unveiled map confirms that approximately 21,000 Nevada households are still without any broadband service option at all. Connect Nevada, in collaboration with the state’s broadband providers, will update the map on a routine basis to reflect “real-time” broadband availability so that policy makers, Internet providers, and the general public can use the maps to make informed decisions about broadband investment and expansion.

The map is accessible through the Connect Nevada website, www.connectnv.org.

On May 20 and May 21, three Connected Nation state-level broadband initiatives (Connect Michigan, Connect South Carolina, and Connect Minnesota) will unveil newly completed broadband availability maps. Each state will host a webinar to showcase the new maps and demonstrate BroadbandStat, the nation’s leading broadband mapping application. Staff from each state will be available to answer questions and highlight the latest high-speed Internet availability insights drawn from the initiatives.

Below is registration information for each of the Webinars. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your Webinar seat now.

Thursday, May 20, 2010:

Connect Michigan
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/429950754

Friday, May 21, 2010:

Connect South Carolina
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM EDT
Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/458962651

Connect Minnesota
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT
Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/297901915

Connected Nation’s efforts to expand broadband adoption and access were touted today in a Congressional hearing addressing the issue on Capitol Hill.

In testimony before a Congressional subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet Thursday, U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R, OH-5), lauded the work of Connected Nation and its Connect Ohio initiative, specifically the research on broadband adoption in the state and commitment to public-private partnerships. “Connected Nation has been a key component at raising awareness (in the state),” Latta said in his opening remarks.

Connected Nation Chief Policy Officer Laura Taylor also provided testimony during the hearing, the fourth in a series the subcommittee has held to discuss the recent National Broadband Plan, explaining how Connected Nation’s efforts have helped bridge the digital divide across much of the nation.

U.S. Rep. Zack Space (D, OH-18) applauded Connected Nation’s “great work” done in overcoming the first hurdle to broadband expansion – mapping, calling Connected Nation “one of the nation’s leaders” in broadband mapping.

Taylor testified about how Connected Tennessee’s efforts have helped increase broadband adoption among minorities, who have historically lagged Caucasians in Internet use, to the point that they have now surpassed Caucasians, with 84% of minority adults in Tennessee reporting that they use the Internet.

“That says it all - that your nonprofit organization is doing that,” said U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R, FL-6) of Connected Nation’s success in reaching underserved communities.

For more on the hearing, see Laura Taylor’s full testimony.

Connected Nation is slated to provide testimony on Capitol Hill Thursday about its comprehensive efforts to increase broadband availability and adoption.

In testimony before a Congressional subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet Thursday, Connected Nation Chief Policy Officer Laura Taylor will address the barriers to high-speed Internet access and adoption and how Connected Nation’s programs are helping eliminate those barriers.

A recent FCC report on broadband adoption shows that only 65% of adults are home broadband adopters and only 50% of rural American adults adopt broadband, compared to 68% of non-rural American adults.

Taylor is slated to offer testimony about Connected Nation’s unique programs that have produced demonstrated results.

“Public-private partnerships, such as those that Connected Nation works to foster, have proven themselves as the most effective vehicle for improving broadband availability and adoption,” according to prepared remarks Taylor will deliver to the subcommittee.

The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. (EST). The subcommittee will be providing a live webcast of the hearing. Visit http://energycommerce.house.gov for details.

Annie Woodsen, 91, shows off her graduation certificate which she earned from a senior computer training class sponsored by the Tennessee Community Foundation in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee.

Worrying about an aging loved one seems as American as apple pie.

Wishing grandpa had easier access to doctors and medical information;
Wishing grandma was better able to do the grocery and gift shopping that always gave her a sense of purpose;
Wishing they both could talk to their distant loved ones face-to-face more often.

These are the kind of wishes that can easily come true immediately by simply hooking up a computer to the Internet and teaching them how to use it. And now, a new organization is taking aim at accomplishing just that.

Project Get Older Adults onLine, or Project GOAL, has just been launched with its mission aimed at providing technology training resources for older adults and for organizations that serve older populations and their members. The training is meant to get senior citizens past the technology fear factor and plug them into the benefits of broadband. Project organizers point out how the Internet can reduce social isolation for seniors, help them stay connected to family members, keep their minds sharp, assist them in research on health or other information, connect them directly with doctors and medical monitoring, and help them accomplish chores like shopping without ever leaving home.

The fact is, high-speed Internet can greatly enrich the lives of older people, yet only 35 percent of Americans over the age of 65 have broadband at home. Project GOAL will work with seniors groups to match them with technology training in their area and help give them the resources they need to teach the elderly how to tap into the world of broadband.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is championing the new initiative and Project GOAL is backed by a number of technology companies like AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, and The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA). Connected Nation is serving as an advisory member along with AARP and the American Telemedicine Association.

Staff from the Jefferson County, Tenn. Office on Aging stand with a student during a recent senior citizens technologically training course.

Related Articles:
News Article: Elderly Encouraged to Reap Benefits of Broadband (AOL News, 04/06/2010)
News Article: Tech Titans Encourage Seniors to Go Online (PC Magazine, 04/06/2010)

Listen: Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass. on ConnectKentucky
Listen: Rep. Zachary T. Space, D-Ohio on Connect Ohio

As discussion of the National Broadband Plan moves forward, Connected Nation’s state-level work continues to garner attention on the national level.

In a hearing of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, two subcommittee members pointed to the work of Connected Nation in Kentucky and Ohio as successful models of broadband adoption and deployment programs in the United States.

The hearing examined assessments in the National Broadband Plan of the availability of broadband and how most effectively to deploy broadband to areas that are unserved and underserved, so all Americans can benefit from good-quality broadband services.

Representative Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., addressed questions about the Broadband Data Improvement Act, which was passed in 2008. Markey said that Congress modeled the BDIA after Connected Nation’s ConnectKentucky program, which began in 2004. The key components of the ConnectKentucky model include grassroots-level demand stimulation, community-based technology assessment teams, and the creation of public-private partnerships.

In addition to the mention of ConnectKentucky’s model, Connect Ohio, another state-based Connected Nation program, received praise during the hearing. Representative Zachary T. Space, D-Ohio, said he had a lot of faith in the work being done at Connect Ohio and had a map of Ohio’s broadband coverage as proof.

Connect Ohio began in 2007 to help expand access to and use of broadband in Ohio. According to Connect Ohio’s June 2009 Technology Assessment, 95 percent of Ohio households have available broadband service. This figure is up from 92 percent the previous year.

To listen to the full hearing, download or stream the audio here.

Today, the Federal Communications Commission sent its National Broadband Plan to Congress. The 376-page document outlines a national broadband imperative to get America connected, including goals to ensure every American has affordable access and a 90 percent adoption rate by 2020.

Over the past year, Connected Nation has offered rich data and insights in support of the FCC’s effort to develop an informed national broadband policy. Connected Nation’s comments are based on nearly 10 years of experience working with hundreds of communities in 30 states and territories to address the challenges of expanding broadband to all citizens, particularly those who are currently unconnected. These filings are accessible on Connected Nation’s FCC filings webpage.

Read the National Broadband Plan here: www.broadband.gov/plan/

Download Connected Nation’s NBP Summary Filing

Tell us what you think about the plan

Follow the conversation on Twitter - #bbplan

Members of the FCC's Omnibus Broadband Initiative including, (L to R) Blair Levin, Executive Director; Brian David, Program Director; and Elise Kohn, Adoption Director address questions during Tuesday’s Digital Inclusion Summit.

"The Federal government can’t do this alone. We need to work in partnership with nonprofits and private industry," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said during Tuesday’s Digital Inclusion Summit.

On February 12, the FCC released data on national broadband trends based on the reformed Form 477 data collected from all broadband providers in the United States. This data dates back to 2008. The 2008 reform of Form 477 addressed deficiencies in earlier provider reporting requirements and aims to help better equip national broadband public policy work.

Key changes in the reporting requirements include reporting the number of broadband subscribers by Census Tract rather than by ZIP Code. In addition, broadband subscriber data is now reported by different tiers of download speeds.

Connected Nation believes these reforms will help better inform national and state broadband public policy and welcomes the release of this report.

As a mapping agent under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s State Broadband Data and Development grant program, Connected Nation is currently working to complete broadband mapping and planning initiatives in 12 states and one U.S. territory. This new FCC Form 477 data will help guide our work. However, we will continue to work with the provider community to meet the more comprehensive and granular NTIA broadband data reporting requirements.

To learn more about the Form 477 data, click here.

How do you boost broadband adoption? That was the subject of a webinar hosted by Intel and other industry leaders to stress the importance of tackling the key barriers to broadband adoption. Connected Nation Chief Executive Officer Brian Mefford served as one of the panelists in the discussion with other broadband researchers and technology leaders.

Mefford was joined by Michael Santorelli, director of the Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute; Aaron Smith from the Pew Internet & American Life Project; Eric Greenman, manager of Service Provider Marketing at Intel Americas; and Bill Wallace from DigitalBridge Communications. The webinar was hosted by w2i.com.

There was a common theme among the findings and experiences of the group, most notably: populations, particularly those that are older, have less education, or lower income, continue to lag behind in broadband adoption.

However, all parties agreed that simply providing affordable broadband service to an area or particular group of people does not mean that adoption rates will instantly rise.

Coupling affordable high-speed Internet with digital literacy programs, like computer classes, and community involvement and technology planning programs have the most significant impact on broadband adoption rates, they said.

At Connected Nation, the efforts to address the issues of broadband adoption are two-fold, Mefford said. The first is to identify the reasons that people do not use broadband. The second is to address those issues at a community level.

“It’s not just about identifying the common barriers at a macro level,” he said. “We must drill down further to the local level and understand particular communities’ nuances. By doing so, we are able to bring forward and execute the most relevant and high-impact solutions to broadband adoption barriers.”

Already, Connected Nation has designed or started such community-specific programs. Connected Nation, along with Intel and other technology companies, have proposed a program called Every Citizen Online (SM), which will work with local communities to provide affordable broadband service, along with digital literacy training and a personal computer.

In addition, Connected Nation’s work through its state-based initiative, Connected Tennessee, has seen the fruits of such local-level collaboration.

In Tennessee, work to provide expanded access to and use of broadband has seen significant success. Since Connected Tennessee’s 2007 inception, more than 250,000 Tennesseans have gained access to broadband.

In addition, Connected Tennessee has donated more than 2,000 computers to children, families, and communities through its Computers 4 Kids program. One such donation, to the Saint John Baptist Church After-School Program in Stanton, stands out.

Click here to view a video about the impact of the C4K donation and the importance of community involvement in combating broadband adoption barriers.

Overall, the key to widespread adoption and use of high-speed Internet is a group effort — from community leaders to local business to technology providers.

To learn more about the work of Connected Nation and its partners, visit www.connectednation.org.

Phillip Brown, Director of Government Affairs & Advocacy at Connected Nation, and Randy Frantz of ESRI, spoke with NextGenWeb on Tuesday, prior to the Internet Caucus Advisory Committee’s 6th Annual State of the Net Conference in Washington, D.C.



Check out NextGenWeb for more.

Summit moderator Tyrone Brown solicits more details from Jane Cabarrus, President of the Northhampton County Branch of the NAACP in Weirwood, Virginia, an area currently without a broadband infrastructure in place.


Click here to view more photos

Federal administrators, corporate leaders, civil rights veterans, and influential policy bloggers brought their diverse viewpoints to the roundtable discussions at the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) Broadband and Social Justice Summit at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 22.

Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Tyrone Brown guided the dialogue as the participants brainstormed the barriers to broadband participation for minority communities and the civil rights implications of digital disengagement.

“Could you envision e-mailing or Skypeing yourself?” The question of perceived usefulness was posed by FCC Broadband Initiative Director Blair Levin as he discussed the impact of broadband on jobs, healthcare, and politics. “Unless the communities you care about are online, broadband loses its relevancy,” Levin said to accentuate a social infrastructure factor impeding adoption — that the Internet is a “team sport” with a strong networking component.

In examining broadband imperatives, the concept of shifting the viewpoint to that of the non-adopter came under examination.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn called it “The Challenge of the Last Half Mile — the distance between each individual who has yet to integrate broadband into their lives and the physical infrastructure lying right outside of their doors.”

Beyond the adoption issue, Commissioner Clyburn posed two questions for consideration:

1. How do we ensure that all communities take advantage of this emerging economic force?
2. How can we ensure that the barriers remain low in order to prevent another communications model that has people of color once again on the outside looking in?

Summit participants had the opportunity to express opinions, concerns, and policy suggestions in three vigorous roundtable discussions on topics including Broadband Literacy, Broadcasting and Journalism in the Broadband World, and Closing the Digital Divide.

Larry Strickling, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), informed the audience that NTIA has been directed by Congress to focus on adoption issues in order to:

• Get more people to use broadband.
• Find ways to make broadband more available and more affordable.
• Create more computer training programs.

Secretary Strickling provided insight on the selection priorities during the next round of Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding, including:

• Focusing on projects in communities where the before and after effects can be clearly measured.
• Public computer center projects, particularly where people can receive computer training.
• Comprehensive infrastructure projects including creating high-speed facilities and connecting community anchors.
• Promoting projects that involve socially disadvantaged businesses.

Strickling also invited all to attend the series of workshops around the country jointly organized by the NTIA and the Department of Agriculture to provide application processing assistance to this target audience.

MMTC, a Connected Nation partner, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity and civil rights in the mass media and telecommunications industries. MMTC is generally recognized as the nation's leading advocate for minority advancement in communications.

Raquel Noriega, Director of Policy Development at Connected Nation, addressed the group about one of Connected Nation’s community initiatives called Every Citizen Online (SM).

Every Citizen Online proposes a public-private partnership that brings together broadband service providers, personal computer equipment manufacturers, and companies such as Intel to deliver a program that targets low-income segments of the population with an affordable personal computer, discounted monthly broadband service and the appropriate level of follow on education and support.

Intel, Dell, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Velocity Micro, and ZT Systems are among the private sector partners joining in the initiative.

Every Citizen Online aims to help vulnerable populations overcome top barriers to adoption, including broadband awareness and training, computer ownership, and subscription affordability.

“The focus of the summit was very much consistent with our goals and mission and we applaud MMTC for creating this important public forum to encourage more people to use broadband-enabled applications,” Noriega said.

Related information:
Blog Post: Broadband and Social Justice Summit Underway in Washington, D.C.

Download the Invitation and Flyer Here

Screen shot of BroadbandStat in Tennessee, developed by Connected Nation in conjunction with ESRI, a market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software.

On Tuesday, January 26, technology leaders, legislators and the general public in Washington, D.C. will be given a sneak peek at a new cutting-edge hands-on tool for finding real-time information on high-speed Internet availability.

Daryl Phillips, Executive Director of the Hickman County Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD), had the opportunity to see the demonstration in Tennessee.

Here’s his reaction:

“Five years ago, we had local business owners that couldn't decide where to locate within the county because they didn't have access to this kind of detailed information,” Phillips said. “Now, business and industry can use this tool for relocation decisions, home buyers can use this while shopping for a home and government and ECD can use it for planning purposes. BroadbandStat gives Tennessee an advantage over other states."

Connected Nation, along with ESRI, will be showcasing BroadbandStat at the kickoff technology policy reception for the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee’s 6th Annual State of the Net Conference.

BroadbandStat was developed by Connected Nation in conjunction with ESRI, the world market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software.

BroadbandStat is a new interactive mapping platform that is a multi-functional, user-friendly way for local leaders, policymakers, consumers and technology providers to devise a plan for the expansion and adoption of broadband.

BroadbandStat is unique because it allows a user to build and evaluate broadband expansion scenarios using a wealth of data, including education and population demographics, current broadband speeds and availability and research about the barriers to adoption. The tool also provides an instant feedback mechanism for consumers to validate broadband data electronically or via phone.

This technology will soon be implemented in 12 different states and one U.S. territory as part of Connected Nation’s federal stimulus funded broadband mapping and planning programs. These mapping activities are supported by State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program funds that are made available through the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for improving broadband accessibility across the nation.

We invite you to stop by and view the demonstration on January 26 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (EST) at the Hart Senate Office Building, Room 902.