Connect Ohio Provides Broadband Expansion Model to Washington County Commissioners

Connect Ohio Provides Broadband Expansion Model to Washington County Commissioners

Contact: Amanda Murphy
614-220-0190 or amurphy@connectohio.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2011

Connect Ohio’s model would allow high-speed Internet to reach a majority of Washington County households.

COLUMBUS – Connect Ohio staff presented Washington County officials today with information that paves the way for greater broadband access for county residents.

Connect Ohio’s technical outreach team has been working closely with Washington County officials for months and provided a preliminary model for broadband expansion that is financially viable and sustainable at today’s county commissioner meeting in Marietta. A finalized report will be completed and delivered in the coming weeks.

The model is a result of the collaborative efforts between Connect Ohio and county commissioners Samuel Cook, Cora Marshall, and Steven Weber, county IT administrator Eric Skomra, and Buckeye Hill–Hocking Valley Regional Development District LDD GIS Department’s Bret Allphin and Jason Pyles.

Connect Ohio technical outreach manager Bart Winegar and coordinator Ira Dye presented commissioners with the preliminary data collection, cost estimates, and propagation studies for the expansion model customized for Washington County. The model can be utilized for Washington County’s draft of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Internet service providers to expand in the area. A completed RFP is expected to be released in early May.

“Connect Ohio has, in a sense, answered all of the difficult questions that a WISP (Wireless Service Provider) would ask,” said Skomra.

Washington County commissioners have already secured agreements to utilize Multi-Agency Radio Communications Systems (MARCS) towers throughout the county, leveraging existing infrastructure in order to distribute broadband signals to homes and businesses.

“We are very close to concluding a study that began over a year ago,” said Winegar. “We are excited about the potential of this study to be used to bring broadband to the unserved citizens of Washington County.”

“There’s a huge amount of work that’s gone into this (model),” said Skomra. “I couldn’t be more pleased with Connect Ohio, Buckeye Hill, and everyone involved.”

According to Connect Ohio’s 2008 Consumer Technology Assessment for Washington County, only 37% of households received broadband service to the home, significantly less than the state average at the time, which was 55%.*

“I can’t wait to see the end product of this effort,” said Allphin.

In a few weeks, the group will reconvene to discuss the next steps needed to make the model a reality.

Those in attendance for Thursday’s meeting included:

Tim Irvine, Washington County commissioner
Cora Marshall, Washington County commissioner
Steven Weber, Washington County commissioner
Rick Peoples, Washington County commissioner’s clerk
Eric Skomra, Washington County IT administrator
Bret Allphin, Buckeye Hills–Hocking Valley Regional Development District
Jason Pyles, Buckeye Hills–Hocking Valley Regional Development District
Richard Hays, Washington County 911 coordinator
Ira Dye, technical outreach coordinator of Connect Ohio
Tom Fritz, executive director of Connect Ohio
Bart Winegar, technical outreach manager of Connect Ohio
Tom Ferree, chief operating officer of Connected Nation

*A 2011 Residential Technology Assessment for each county will be available later this year.

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About Connect Ohio: Connect Ohio, a division of Connected Nation, is a nonprofit, technology-neutral public-private partnership that works with telecommunications providers, business and community leaders, information technology companies, researchers, public agencies, libraries and universities in an effort to help extend affordable high-speed Internet service to every Ohio household. For more information about what Connect Ohio is doing to accelerate technology in Ohio's communities, visit http://www.connectohio.org

Related Links: Connect Ohio on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ConnectOhio

Connect Ohio on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ConnectOH

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