Connect Ohio Applauds Knox Township Tower Dedication & Omnicity, Inc.’s Efforts to Expand Broadband Availability in Columbiana County

Connect Ohio Applauds Knox Township Tower Dedication & Omnicity, Inc.’s Efforts to Expand Broadband Availability in Columbiana County

Contact: Amanda Murphy

614-220-0190 or amurphy@connectohio.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 1, 2011

The new MARCS tower will provide high-speed Internet access to hundreds of homes in Columbiana County and has already improved local first-responder communications.

Alliance, Ohio – Connect Ohio is pleased to be part of the collaborative efforts of Knox Township and Columbiana County officials, MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) program staff, Tri-County Tower, and Omnicity, Inc. to expand broadband access to residences, business, and schools throughout the area, as well as improving first-responder communications, with the dedication of the new Knox Township MARCS tower.

A dedication ceremony and formal ribbon-cutting event took place Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at the tower’s location, which is directly across the street from Knox Elementary School, located at 2900 Knox School Road, Alliance.

The new MARCS tower was a nearly two-year project that began in 2009, with Columbiana County Port Authority and Omnicity, Inc. advocating the possibilities of broadband expansion. The infrastructure was completed in December 2010 and the broadband and communication connectivity was completed in Spring 2011. The tower stands 250 feet high and is supported by 3 piers that run 32 feet into the ground.

“This is the first tower in Ohio with fiber optics running to the tower itself, as well as a new technology known as WiMAX, which allows the opportunity for 4G capabilities and to upgrade connectivity speeds without replacing ground equipment,” said David Weddell, vice president of business development and corporate partnerships with Omnicity, Inc., a fixed-wireless Internet provider. “This represents our model for our future deployments. We’ll offer multiple services over this broadband connection.”

“A lot of people in this area have no Internet connection and some, not even cable,” said Columbiana County Commissioner Jim Hoppel. “This tower is a big advantage and it’s just a start. The community is very excited.”

According to Connect Ohio’s 2008 Consumer Technology Assessment for Columbiana County, 43% of households received broadband service to the home, significantly less than the state average at the time, which was 55%.* Additional Columbiana County technology statistics can be found on Connect Ohio’s website or by visiting the following link: http://connectohio.org/mapping_and_research/county_profiles/columbiana. OmniCity, Inc. began serving customers in the Knox Township area on April 1, 2011. The company plans to eventually serve about 300 homes from this single tower, and deploy additional towers and broadband service in the near future.

“This project is a great example of what can be accomplished with public-private partnerships to serve the fundamental needs of rural communities,” said Bart Winegar, technical outreach manager for Connect Ohio. “Hopefully, we can replicate this model in other rural areas.”

“Connect Ohio is providing two great things for us during this process,” said Weddell. “They are providing propagation studies and business models for us to know where to build and deploy, as well as assisting us with partnerships. Secondly, we can build it, but we need people to use it. Connect Ohio is helping with that by teaching adults how to use broadband (through the statewide Every Citizen Online program).”

For more information about the Every Citizen Online program, visit http://connectohio.org/consumer_training.

*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.


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