Connect Ohio Introduces New Executive Director, Details State Broadband Mapping Initiatives at Quarterly Forum

For Immediate Release 
September 30, 2011 
Contact: Amanda Murphy 
614-214-6755 or amurphy@connectohio.org

Since 2008, Connect Ohio has provided advanced mapping research of Ohio’s broadband infrastructure, including the interactive BroadbandStat tool, for state and federal government agencies 

COLUMBUS – On Friday, September 30 at the Vern Riffe Center in Columbus, Connect Ohio hosted the 2011 third quarter Technology Association Meeting with 51 stakeholders, government representatives, broadband providers, and library and community delegates in attendance. Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development office and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio were also present.

At the meeting, Tom Fritz, Connected Nation’s vice president of U.S. state and local programs, introduced Connect Ohio’s new executive director Stu Johnson. Johnson has over 20 years of executive level telecommunications experience and joins Connect Ohio after serving as CEO of Network Advantage LLC.

Ashley Littell, Connected Nation GIS services manager, discussed Connect Ohio’s ongoing broadband infrastructure mapping and research project, which consists of compiling information from more than 100 broadband providers in the state and submitting the data to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) semi-annually. The information is also included in the National Broadband Map. Connect Ohio’s broadband availability research is also accessible for use by the public through the interactive online tool BroadbandStat at http://connectohio.org/mapping_and_research/_interactive_map_interface/?q=map.

The meeting also detailed the current status of the groundbreaking Every Citizen Online (ECO) program, a two-year effort to increase sustainable broadband adoption for more than 200,000 state residents by providing free computer training sessions throughout Ohio. Since the program’s launch in late December, 247 locations are offering the ECO program and more than 11,000 Ohio adults have taken advantage of the free basic computer training.

Connect Ohio Technical Outreach Manager Bart Winegar gave attendees an overview of current last-mile assistance projects in Ohio, which include the following 13 counties: Belmont, Carroll, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Noble, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Vinton, and Washington. The last-mile projects offer assistance to Ohio communities that lack access to broadband by identifying, researching, and mapping unserved areas and interacting with local planning teams to determine the best practices to increase broadband capacity in that area. Representatives from One Community, ComNet, CenturyLink, and Safe-t-net briefly discussed their current broadband expansion projects, as well.

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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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Connect Ohio’s Technical Outreach Mapping & Research aids Broadband Expansion in Gallia County

Contact: Amanda Murphy 

614-220-0190 or amurphy@connectohio.org 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

September 26, 2011 

A lease agreement between JB Nets and county officials for the use of three towers will provide high-speed Internet access to more than a thousand homes in rural Gallia County 

Columbus, Ohio – Connect Ohio is pleased to be part of the collaborative efforts of Gallia County officials and broadband provider JB Nets to expand high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses with a recently signed lease agreement for three county-owned towers.

JB Nets presented a broadband expansion business plan, which included Google Earth mapping of propagation studies and a business case analysis template designed by Connect Ohio, to Gallia County officials just over a week ago. According to Jake Kline, owner of JB Nets, the plan includes high-speed Internet coverage to 80% of the county within the next three years and the creation of at least two, but possibly three, full-time jobs.

“These three initial towers should be able to expand (Internet coverage) to 450-500 households,” said Kline. “However, our proposal also included 30 additional secondary towers to fill in gaps. We estimate approximately 1,200-1,400 total additional households that could receive service from us with all 33 towers constructed.”

Gallia County officials accepted the proposal and have signed lease agreements with JB Nets for the use of the three county-owned 911 communications towers, located in Gallipolis Township, Harrison Township, and Ohio Township.

“It is exciting to see community leaders cooperating with a local broadband provider to offer high-speed Internet to residents who otherwise would be left behind,” said Bart Winegar, technical outreach manager for Connect Ohio.

“The information Connect Ohio provided us was very useful in putting together our business plan/proposal,” said Kline.

According to Connect Ohio’s 2011 Residential Technology Assessment for Gallia County, only 42% of households receive broadband service to the home, significantly less than the state average of 66%.

Other Gallia County technology figures:

• Sixty-seven percent of Gallia County residents own a computer, which is less than the state average of 80% 
• Of the 33% of residents who do not own a computer, 71% claim they do not need a computer, 21% say computers are too complicated, and 20% say computers are too expensive 
• Seventy-five percent of residents access the Internet from home or some other location 
• The average monthly cost for home broadband service in Gallia County is $50.83, above the state average of $43.41 

For more information on JB Nets, visit http://jbnets.net.

Additional Gallia County technology research can be found at http://connectohio.org/_documents/Technology_Assessment_Gallia_County_2011.pdf.

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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