Rural Utilities Service Announces $25M Funding Availability

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), recently announced the availability of $25 million in funding for Fiscal Year 2011 for its Community Connect Broadband Grant program.

The Community Connect program specifically seeks to improve broadband service in rural communities to improve quality of life. The awarded funds can be used to build broadband infrastructure, as well as to provide free public access to broadband by creating a community center. Areas eligible for the grants are communities without broadband which are located outside cities with a population of 20,000 or more. Grants are available to private, non-profit, and government organizations.

The deadline to submit applications for the Community Connect Broadband Grant program is May 3, 2011. For more information on this program, visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/utp_commconnect.html.

The most recent Ohio awardees of the Community Connect grant were GMNTri-County CAC, Inc. and Chillicothe Telephone Company in 2007. GMNTri-County CAC received $316,840 to deploy wireless broadband in Monroe County, as well as equip the Graysville Volunteer Fire Department and Bethel Ambulance Service with free Wi-Fi access. Chillicothe Telephone Company was awarded $603,200 to deploy a fiber-to-the-home system in Pickaway County, as well as to provide a new computer lab with free Internet access to those unable to afford computers or home broadband service.

Every Citizen Online Highlighted as BTOP in Action Program

Connect Ohio's Every Citizen Online program has been highlighted on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) website. Connect Ohio is a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grantee. The NTIA's article exemplifies Every Citizen Online as a 'BTOP in Action' program and features the program's full deployment, progress, and early success.

Click here to read the full article.

Every Citizen Online Program Sees Early Success

The Every Citizen Online (ECO) program providing free basic computer and Internet training to Ohio adults launched in late December 2010, with many sub-recipients’ classes beginning in January 2011. The instructor-led and self-paced training is being offered in more than 180 locations throughout the state with the help of libraries, community colleges, and education centers.

The initial response to the ECO program has been quite positive. Many classes are full or near-full for each training session.

“We have 8 to 10 participants per class and can hold 11,” said Blythe Schubert, director of the Kate Love Simpson Morgan County Library in southeastern Ohio.

The Columbus Metropolitan Library received more than 600 phone calls inquiring about the ECO program within the first few weeks of starting classes.

“That huge number tells us in a quantitative way that there is a great need for basic computer training in our community,” said Steve Hipes, ECO project manager for the library.

Through the end of February, nearly 1,000 Ohio adults have completed the ECO training and gained the skills to communicate with friends and family members through e-mail, apply for jobs online, gain knowledge of favorite topics and hobbies, and more.

“Online bill pay would be very convenient for me,” shared Barb Queen, ECO participant at the Pioneer Career and Technical Center in northern Ohio. “I wouldn’t have to drive 15 minutes to pay my bills like I do now.”

Connect Ohio and the ECO training partners continue promoting the free program through local and state media outlets, word-of-mouth, promotional fliers and bookmarks, as well as the ECO public service announcements airing on television and radio stations and printed in 95 newspapers throughout Ohio.

To view photos from the ECO program, visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

Connect Ohio Technical Outreach Team Provides Broadband Expansion Model to Morgan County Officials

Connect Ohio technical outreach staff presented Morgan County officials with a financially viable and sustainable broadband expansion model in a meeting Wednesday, March 16, at the Morgan County Extension Agent in McConnelsville, Ohio.

Following months of data collection, cost estimation, and propagation studies by Connect Ohio technical outreach manager Bart Winegar, coordinator Ira Dye, and Matthew Pepper of Chesterhill municipal wireless Internet service provider, the model was presented to Morgan County officials for review. The model leverages efforts from local eCommunity Strategy planning that began in 2009 with the assistance of Connect Ohio. Many local leaders participated in these early meetings and provided valuable input.

“This presentation was the culmination of a lot of work,” said Winegar. “I’m encouraged that county commissioners and economic development staff were present and agreed to take time to review the model.”

According to Connect Ohio’s 2008 Consumer Technology Assessment for Morgan County, only 25% of households received broadband service to the home, significantly less than the state average at the time, which was 55%.*

“This is positive for the area and the residents of Morgan County,” said Pepper. “(Broadband) adoption is not the issue. Availability is the issue.”

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

“I’m excited about the opportunity and potential partnership between Chesterhill and the county and to be able to provide a service to so many unserved households,” said Shannon Wells, director of the Morgan County Development Office.

Those in attendance for Wednesday’s meeting included:

• Dean Cain, Morgan County commissioner
• Steve Hook, Morgan County engineer
• Bo Powell, Morgan County Engineer’s Office
• Matthew Pepper, Chesterhill municipal wireless Internet service provider
• Shannon Wells, director of the Morgan County Development Office
• Ira Dye, technical outreach coordinator at Connect Ohio
• Tom Fritz, executive director at Connect Ohio
• Bart Winegar, technical outreach manager at Connect Ohio
• Chip Spann, director of engineering & technical services at Connected Nation

During the meeting, Connect Ohio presented Matthew Pepper with a Broadband Hero Award, acknowledging him for the many hours and resources he donates to help other households in his community get connected to broadband, as well as aiding his local library with their computers, network and broadband connection.

Because of Pepper’s work, 50 homes in the Chesterhill area have access to high-speed Internet.

“One-third of those currently using Chesterhill wireless have home Internet businesses and there’s no shortage of people asking to be put on the system,” said Pepper. “This (expansion) is positive for the area and residents.”

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

To view additional photos from the meeting, click here.

Internet Providers Partner with Connect Ohio, Offer Savings to ECO Participants

Broadband Internet providers throughout the state are partnering with Connect Ohio to offer Every Citizen Online (ECO) program graduates special offers for services. These partnerships are a key element to the success of the ECO program.

Established goals of the training program include equipping more than 200,000 Ohio adults with basic computer and Internet skills. In turn, Connect Ohio anticipates at least 75,000 of those adults will adopt Internet use into their homes and daily lives. Providers, such as Frontier Communications and Buckeye Cablevision, Inc., are already offering exciting service discounts to these new adopters. After Ohioans complete the ECO training, they are directed to a listing of the special offers in their area. These incentives include such offers as reduced monthly service charges, discounted or free computing equipment, or a combination of both.

The following is a list of providers already partnering with Connect Ohio and the list continues to grow.If you are a broadband provider and would like to partner with Connect Ohio and the Every Citizen Online program, please e-mail Amanda Murphy at amurphy@connectohio.org.

USDA rural broadband loan program updated

The USDA today released new information for applicants for its broadband loan program for rural areas. The program is designed to provide loans for the costs of construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment to provide broadband service to eligible rural communities.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA has issued a Notice of Solicitations of Applications and regulations implementing the 2008 Farm Bill for the broadband loan program.

“Broadband investments are an essential part of the Obama Administration’s effort to ‘win the future’ by out-innovating, out-educating, and out-building our global competitors,” Vilsack said in the announcement. “Investments in rural broadband networks create jobs and economic opportunity for rural America. Broadband is critical communications infrastructure of the twenty-first century, and it is vital to building vibrant rural communities.”

The notice is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act to allow applicants time to submit proposals and give the agency time to process applications within the current fiscal year, according to the USDA. Upon completion of a 2011 Appropriations Act, RUS will publish a subsequent notice identifying the amount of funding available for broadband loans.

The application guide to assist in preparing applications is available at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/utp_farmbill.html.

USDA’s Farm Bill broadband loan program has invested more than $1 billion over the past decade in more than 100 projects nationwide, according to the USDA announcement. RUS is planning to schedule training opportunities to educate applicants on new program requirements, and how to submit complete and competitive applications. Dates for the training will be published on the USDA website.

Partner Spotlight: Ohio Association of Broadcasters

The Ohio Association of Broadcasters (OAB) provides an important service to the Every Citizen Online (ECO) program. The nonprofit association is one of the oldest state broadcast associations in the country and has more than 95% of Ohio television stations and 80% of Ohio radio stations as members.

The OAB is distributing Connect Ohio’s ECO spots to its 300+ member radio and television stations for voluntary broadcasting of the 15-, 30-, and 60-second messages throughout the entire state. With the OAB’s help, the free basic computer training message is being broadcast thousands of times each month, reaching a large portion of the 4.4 million households in the state.

“The Ohio Association of Broadcasters, and our member radio and television stations around the state, are pleased to have a role in promoting the valuable training and resources available through Connect Ohio’s Every Citizen Online program,” said Christine Merritt, president of the OAB.

With the OAB and its members’ commitment, Connect Ohio anticipates equipping more than

200,000 Ohio adults with basic computer and Internet skills and helping more than 75,000 of

those adults adopt broadband use into their homes and daily lives.

For more information on the OAB, visit http://www.oab.org/.

Connect Ohio Mapping Helps County Provider Expand

JB-Nets began providing Internet service to southeastern Ohio in 2002. The small organization has about 600 customers and has experienced a rapid growth spurt in the last 8 months. The company’s owner, Jacob Kline, attributes the growth to new upgrades, word-of-mouth marketing, and Connect Ohio’s online mapping tools.

The company is in the middle of an expansion project, bringing wireless Internet availability to southern areas of Gallia County that were previously without access. In order to expand, JB-Nets has been building its own towers, ranging from 130- to 180-feet in height. Building its own infrastructure allows for strategic placement of its broadband signal, reaching the most households it possibly can per tower.

JB-Nets is also upgrading its current coverage areas to offer customers faster Internet speeds.

“It’s a never-ending challenge for a provider – to keep up with the growing demand,” said Kline.

Kline has seen an overall increase in Netflix use, blue ray players, and televisions with Internet capabilities built-in – even appliances are now connected to the Internet. All of which require faster Internet speeds and additional bandwidth to work to their fullest potential.

“We’ll have at least 85%, possibly even 90%, of our customers up to 5 Megabits per second by late fall of this year,” said Kline. “We already have 40% of our customer base upgraded to the higher speeds.”

Before JB-Nets’ upgrades, the average Internet speed for customers was 1-2 Megabits per second.

“It’s helped that people can pinpoint by their address on Connect Ohio’s website and see that we’re the provider in their area,” said Kline. “We don’t do a lot of advertising, so that tool, word-of-mouth, and expansion efforts have helped us continue to grow our customer base.”

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

Why Every Citizen Online Training is Important to Many Ohioans

A recent visit to an Every Citizen Online (ECO) training class at Pioneer Career and Technical Center in Shelby revealed various reasons some Ohioans haven’t adopted Internet usage into their daily lives and why many are doing so now.

“I don’t have a computer. Well, I have an old one from 1987,” said Dean Morse. “I thought the training might help me if I want to go to the library and use their computers to look up something.”

Morse shared that he would like to learn to use eBay. He has an old train set and other antique items he would like to sell.

Jerry Grove is currently unemployed and knows he needs computer and Internet skills to apply for jobs online.

“I raised children and I worked,” said Grove. “I bought computers for my 5 kids and my grandchildren, but I never bought one for myself.”

Barb Queen shared a similar story.

“My employer went out of business in December,” Queen said. “My family bought me a laptop for my birthday and I thought it’d be a good time to learn. I look forward to the things Internet makes available.”

The course instructor, Donnie Perry, began the 6-hour training by asking what each of the 11 class participants wanted to be able to do by using the Internet that they currently could not. Perry wants to ensure each participant graduates the program with the tools and knowledge that will help them meet those expectations.

“Our nieces and nephews told us what (computer equipment) to go buy,” shared Anita Hollinger. “We have the equipment, but we don’t know how to use the stuff.”

Hollinger wants to Web chat with her cousin overseas. Her husband, John, would like to look at woodworking websites for tips and ideas to fuel his hobby.

Some are just looking for the simplicity that can come from Internet use.

“Online bill pay would be very convenient for me,” Queen said. “I wouldn’t have to drive 15 minutes to pay my bills like I do now.”

To view more photos from this class, click here.