Friday, October 15, 2010

Broadband in the News

Broadband in the News

Attracting jobs with high-speed connectivity

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 10:10 AM PDT

JACKSON TWP. —

A faster Internet network could attract more jobs and make services more efficient, officials say.

Roughly 50 officials from the public and private sector attended a countywide summit on broadband connectivity Friday at Stark State College of Technology.

OneCommunity, a nonprofit open network provider, has been awarded a $45 million stimulus grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand its community broadband network. The Cleveland-based group plans to install about 100 miles of fiber-optic cable in Stark County at an estimated cost over $2 million.

Part of the grant requires a 35 percent local match.

SHARING SERVICES

Governments, businesses, schools, hospitals and other nonprofit agencies across the county could benefit from such high-speed connections.

For example, county and local government offices could use the same network, regionalizing databases, making it more efficient and less costly, said Stark County Auditor Kim Perez.

He said the current trend has been for these offices to pay for their own Internet service and data center. As a result, most offices are not able to share information.

The same possibilities exist for police and fire departments.

If a crime occurs in one town, officers in other communities could be put on alert quicker, said Beach City Police Chief Jim Wood.

PROMOTING GROWTH

Scot Rourke, president of OneCommunity, said his agency would install the fiber lines — similar to a main waterline — and provide a network for public and private sectors. Additionally, local service providers could connect their lines to the agency's line for individual customers. That might reduce costs, he said.

He said the agency does not want to compete with current service providers, such as Time Warner or Massillon Cable, and openly invites them to use their lines.

Rourke said high-speed connectivity would help increase economic growth and civic progress in Northwest Ohio and Stark County.

Stark State President John O'Donnell said two important assets for potential new businesses are strong workforces and high-speed connectivity.

"We have the best workforce," he said.

But the county lacks sufficient high-speed connection. "We just don't have the fiber highway to attract modern-day jobs," said Perez, who hosted the summit.

"We're behind the times, and we need to be able to move Stark County forward to attract new jobs. Without connectivity, it's not going to happen."

County and local officials now must determined if they will provide the matching funds.

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Omnicity continues wireless expansion, offering satellite service

Posted: 14 Oct 2010 09:52 AM PDT

COSHOCTON — Omnicity, the company providing wireless broadband access to Coshocton County, is now offering satellite Internet.

Omnicity Ohio General Manager Bob Meissner told Coshocton County Commissioners on Wednesday that a representative in the New Philadelphia office is calling the about 600 names they have on file of Coshocton County residents interested in wireless Internet.

They are being told whether wireless service is now available in their area or when it might be. Those still without wireless will also be told about Omnicity's satellite service.

Installation is $300, but customers can get a manufacturer's rebate for $150. Cost of the satellite service is $77.50 per month on a two-year contract.

Meissner said if wireless would become available to someone with satellite they could switch with no penalty fees but would pay a $50 installation fee for the wireless service.

Meissner said satellite service is not as fast or as efficient as wireless, but is 20 times faster than dial-up. There are also limitations on uploads and downloads over a seven-day rolling period. When limitations are met, speeds slow down and Meissner said using Skype voice service or downloading movies from Netflix would be examples of things beyond capacity.

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