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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