Connect Ohio’s Every Citizen Online Broadband Adoption Program Sees Early Success

More than 10,000 Ohio adults have registered for free basic computer training offered throughout the state

COLUMBUS – Connect Ohio is pleased to announce more than 5,700 adults have completed the Every Citizen Online free basic computer training since the program’s launch December 20, 2010. More than 10,000 adults have registered for the free 6-hour course, which is offered in libraries and community centers across Ohio.

“Ohioans have already shown great interest in the Every Citizen Online program,” said Tom Fritz, Connect Ohio executive director. “We’re pleased that almost 6,000 adults in 60 counties have completed the training already, putting the program well on its way to success. Since January, more than 200 training locations have begun to offer free classes, with more coming aboard each week. We’re excited at the opportunity to prepare Ohioans without high-speed Internet for a technologically-driven society and to introduce them to a wide range of communication, education, economic, and healthcare tools available to them online.”

The program is available to any Ohio adult and trainees come from a wide range of backgrounds, including small business owners, persons interested in increasing their education, job seekers, and seniors who have waited to adopt technology.

“The class opened up knowledge of the computer and the Internet for me,” said Stephen Morozowsky, a small business owner in Zanesville. “Now, I communicate with my clients through e-mail. I also order my business supplies online. I can shop and compare prices, which I hadn’t been able to do before. It’s a great added convenience.”

Morozowsky received training at the John McIntire Public Library in March.

Early surveys indicate that 91% of trainees intend to become regular broadband users at home as a result of the training.

In partnership with 213 libraries, community colleges, and educational and workforce centers across the state, the program offers free computer and broadband training to any interested Ohio adult. The training curriculum includes a basic introduction to computers, an introduction to the Internet, as well as exploring the tools and benefits of using the Internet. Participants are helped to establish an e-mail account and provided with additional training resources to help them continue to learn and use information available online.

The goal of the Every Citizen Online project, funded by the National Telecommunication and Information Agency (NTIA)’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, is to train more than 200,000 state residents by early 2013 and to generate 75,000 new broadband adopters in Ohio. The scope of the 3-year program includes 80,000 training hours, more than 2,000 computers provided to libraries and community colleges, the immediate creation of 136 jobs, and a projected increase in direct economic growth of $36 million annually.

A complete list of program details and information on participating locations can be found at http://connectohio.org/consumer_training or by calling 1-855-NOW-I-CAN (669-4226). Free self-paced training is being offered online for those unable to attend classes. Self-paced training can be completed by visiting http://eco.connectohio.org/.

Additional information regarding the Every Citizen Online program can be found at http://connectohio.org/consumer_training/.

View Connect Ohio’s Every Citizen Online televised public service announcements: http://connectohio.org/consumer_training/media.php.

Related Links:

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

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

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Connected Tennessee Launches its ‘Computers 4 Kids: Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success’ Program in Jackson

American Recovery & Reinvestment Act-funded program awards the Boys & Girls Clubs of Jackson with 50 new computers

Jackson, TN – Today, Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids officially kicked off its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act-funded "Preparing Tennessee's Next Generation for Success" program in Jackson. The C4K project deploys computers, academic support programs, and workforce training to two disparate, but especially at-risk, populations: those in the state's foster care system who are "aging out" as they turn 18, and youth who are active in the state’s 76 Boys & Girls Clubs.

Fifty new computers were donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Jackson-Madison County. City of Jackson Mayor Jerry Gist, in attendance at the launch, remarked that the impact of the computers on the communities of Jackson and Madison County would be significant.

“Computer skills are vital in today’s global economy, and computers today are the highways to the future for our children,” said Gist. “We are thrilled to welcome this exciting program to Jackson and we know that this donation marks an exciting new chapter for our city in providing these deserving youth with the ability to further develop their technology skills.”

The “Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success” project is a result of a $2.3 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant awarded to the C4K program in August 2010 by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

Today’s event was the first of several celebration events that will take place across the state throughout the summer. To date, the Computers 4 Kids program has distributed more than 2,000 computers statewide.

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About Connected Tennessee: As a public-private partnership, Connected Tennessee partners with technology-minded businesses, government entities and universities to accelerate technology in the state. For more information about what Connected Tennessee is doing to accelerate technology in Tennessee’s communities, visit www.connectedtennessee.org.

About Computers 4 Kids: Preparing Tennessee’s Next Generation for Success: Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids project is helping to prepare Tennessee’s most vulnerable youth for success by providing them with connectivity. The program promotes economic, career, and educational development through the provision of computers and broadband Internet, online technology training, career training, and community awareness that highlights the benefits of technology adoption.

Connected Nation Unveils Broadband Readiness Index for U.S. Counties

Nearly half of nation's households are in counties falling short of national broadband goals

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WASHINGTON, DC – Connected Nation, a leading national nonprofit technology services organization, today unveiled its Broadband Readiness Index – a powerful new tool that assesses the broadband infrastructure for all 3,219 counties in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The Index shows that counties containing 45.6% of the nation’s households still fall significantly short in meeting National Broadband Plan goals of fixed and mobile broadband access for both current and future needs.

“Connected Nation developed this national Broadband Readiness Index to provide anyone interested in broadband expansion with a very simple way to compare how communities are faring,” said Connected Nation CEO Brian Mefford. “The tool will become even more useful over time as we can easily track where progress is occurring and where it is not - and then to shape more intelligent strategies to spur improvements.”

The Broadband Readiness Index assesses the progress of counties in reaching national broadband infrastructure benchmarks established in the National Broadband Plan and the President’s Wireless Innovation Initiative. Utilizing data from the National Broadband Map, the Index measures how close counties are to reaching each of these goals:

• Universal Broadband for Today’s Needs: universal access to broadband at 3 Mbps download and 768 Kbps upload speeds, roughly commensurate with the Plan’s National Broadband Availability Target;

• Mobility: 98% availability of mobile wireless service, proposed by the Wireless Innovation Initiative; and

• Robust Broadband Markets: 85% availability of access to 50 Mbps fixed networks, which is comparable to the Plan’s goal that 100 million households have access to such networks by 2015.

The Index measures each county’s progress against each of these benchmarks, assigns a grade to each component, and calculates an overall grade. It will be updated every six months as the National Broadband Map, www.broadbandmap.gov, data is updated. The tool is intended to be used in support of state, local, and regional broadband planning initiatives.

“The broadband needs of a community are diverse, and the health of a community’s broadband infrastructure cannot be measured solely by reference to basic broadband speeds,” said Tom Koutsky, chief policy counsel for Connected Nation. “The Index assesses current broadband speeds, takes into account the economic benefits of mobility and high-speed platforms, and encapsulates those objectives into an easy-to-understand and powerful format. Community leaders will be able to use this index to drive and direct public-private partnerships to close these infrastructure gaps.”

The Broadband Readiness Index is being unveiled today at Mefford’s keynote speech at the Telecommunications Industry Association Conference in Dallas. The Index can be a catalyst for broadband expansion, and such related data collected by Connected Nation has already been used to identify local challenges and promote action to fill the gaps. (Click here and here for examples).

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Broadband Key to Higher Business Revenue, but Adoption Lags, According to New Connected Nation Study

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Businesses with broadband bring in $200K more in median annual revenues, but 2.1 million U.S. businesses remain unconnected

Washington, D.C. — A new study by Connected Nation shows businesses with broadband have a clear advantage in revenue and thus potential job creation over businesses without it. The groundbreaking research, which can be found at www.connectednation.org/research, involved surveys of more than 9,600 businesses across a dozen states and territories and shows that businesses using high-speed Internet connections report median annual revenues $200,000 more than businesses without broadband. However, the research estimates that approximately 2.1 million U.S. businesses still do not use broadband technology today.

“While the benefits of broadband technology to businesses are clear, broadband use among different business sectors varies widely in surprising ways,” said Brian Mefford, CEO of Connected Nation. “We estimate that more than one quarter of all business establishments – over two million – do not use broadband today, and adoption rates in some crucial economic sectors like healthcare are significantly lower than average.”

Connected Nation was joined today by representatives from the Telecommunications Industry Association, Communications Workers of America, and Daphne DeLeon, state librarian of Nevada and chair of the Nevada Broadband Task Force, to announce the revelatory findings and call attention to broadband’s critical role in economic development.

“More and more businesses are embracing broadband and technology as ways of growing their sales and revenues and allowing for flexible work schedules in today’s tough economic climate,” said DeLeon.

“TIA believes broadband is a game changer for anyone that uses it,” said Grant Seiffert, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association. “There are unprecedented growth opportunities when businesses use broadband to market their services. What the Connected Nation survey shows is a classic case of the haves and have nots. We have a lot of work to do to bring down that 28% of non-users.”

Connected Nation is a non-profit working to expand broadband access, adoption, and utilization nationwide. To conduct this study, Connected Nation surveyed 9,650 businesses in 11 states and Puerto Rico to explore the technology and adoption choices of local business establishments. Unlike prior research efforts which focused on enterprise-level surveys of corporate headquarters, this approach paints a detailed picture of the business broadband landscape at the local level and will facilitate broadband policy planning in those communities.

The findings demonstrate a significant correlation between high-speed Internet adoption and a business’s bottom line, and provide a groundbreaking overview of business uses of technology. For instance:

• Businesses with high-speed Internet connections report having median annual revenues $200,000 more than businesses without broadband.

• 28% of all businesses – and 32% of small businesses with fewer than five employees – do not use broadband for their daily business needs.

• Only 63% of businesses in the Healthcare sector use broadband, representing a potentially significant loss to the economy in terms of increased healthcare service delivery costs.

• 23% of businesses let employees telework.

• Three out of five businesses that do not subscribe to broadband say that either they do not need broad¬band or they do not know why they don’t subscribe. This is by far the most often-cited barrier to broad¬band adoption, followed by the lack of a computer, perceived security risks, and expense.

“CWA believes that the expansion of robust high-speed wireline and wireless broadband will benefit America’s consumers, workers, businesses, and communities,” said Ken Peres, economist with the Communication Workers of America. "Yet, we need good data to inform policy makers and community leaders in their efforts to expand broadband access, adoption, and use. Connected Nation’s study reveals that we can clearly do better in providing access to millions of businesses. I encourage using this data to address the sectors that are clearly lagging behind.”

Working in partnership with state agencies and numerous public-private partners, Connected Nation has created broadband inventory maps, developed numerous broadband research projects, and prepared detailed broadband planning reports and analyses. Connected Nation was the single largest supplier of data to the milestone National Broadband Map released in February. The data used in the business technology assessment was collected in Nevada, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Alaska, South Carolina, Florida, and the Territory of Puerto Rico.

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Connected Nation to Address Broadband Challenges at TIA 2011: Inside the Network

From the Telecommunications Industry Association:

Connected Nation is working with communities across the country from Alaska to Puerto Rico to leverage the network to strengthen local economies

Arlington, Va. – Connected Nation is joining an exciting lineup of speakers at the Telecommunications Industry Association’s premier annual summit and conference – TIA 2011: Inside the Network – May 17-20 at the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Dallas.

Brian Mefford, CEO of Connected Nation, will deliver a keynote speech addressing the critical issues surrounding the future of the network on May 18 at 3 p.m.: Connecting Communities: Public-Private Initiatives in Overcoming the Nation’s Broadband Challenge. Mefford will also participate in a keynote panel Thursday morning, May 19 with National Telecommunications Cooperative Association President Sandy Vandevender.

“We deeply appreciate Brian sharing the hands-on experience that Connected Nation has in bringing broadband technologies to the nation’s communities,” said TIA President Grant Seiffert. “His awareness of the hurdles we face in bringing the benefits of broadband to unserved and underserved areas, and how we face and conquer those challenges, will provide participants at TIA 2011: Inside the Network with knowledge that can be put to immediate use.”

Connected Nation has a program footprint that spans more than 30 states and territories from Alaska to Puerto Rico and is currently managing broadband expansion programs in 12 states and territories across the nation. It knows firsthand the local demands of effective broadband planning and the solutions that will inject energy and momentum towards sustainable solutions. Connected Nation provides underserved communities the knowledge, expertise, and energy to take control of their broadband future and bring the benefits of broadband to their communities.

In February, the NTIA and FCC released the nation’s first ever broadband map. Connected Nation, through its state partner projects, is the single largest data contributor to the map. Connected Nation contributed nearly a quarter of the records in the national map. Connected Nation’s contribution covers approximately 42 percent of the country’s landmass, approximately 39.5 million households, and data of more than 1,200 broadband service providers.

“TIA has pulled together an impressive lineup of thought leaders who are impacting the future of the network and we look forward to the important discussions and decisions that will occur during the summit,” said Connected Nation CEO Brian Mefford. “As Connected Nation works in communities across the country from Alaska to Puerto Rico to leverage the network to strengthen local economies, we have gained a keen appreciation for the need for collaboration between technology solutions providers and grassroots leaders. I’m looking forward to engaging with stakeholders from these and other key groups to determine practical ways we can work closer together to spur innovation and growth in our state and local economies.”

Connected Nation’s Texas program, Connected Texas, is working with the state’s Dept. of Agriculture and Public Utility Commission on a comprehensive broadband initiative to expand broadband adoption and use across the state. Their latest study, “The Broadband Landscape in the State of Texas,” finds that 96 percent of Texans have access to broadband, but only 62 percent are using it.

The TIA 2011: Inside the Network event features educational sessions covering Converged Networks; Smart Grid; Machine to Machine; Cloud Computing; Mobile Backhaul, Video and Data; Sustainable Networks; Regulatory Issues; Security and more. Leading speakers include:

• Randall Stephenson, Chairman, CEO and President, AT&T
• Anthony J. Melone, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Verizon
• FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski
• Jeff Gardner, CEO and President, Windstream Corp.
• Robert Vrij, Executive Vice President, Alcatel-Lucent, President of Americas Region
• The Hon. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas )
• Charles Vogt, CEO and President, GENBAND
• Joseph Ambeault, Director, Product Development and Management, Video Services, Verizon FiOS
• Kittur Nagesh, Senior Director, Mobility and Security Solutions Marketing, Juniper Networks
• Jeremy Legg, Senior Vice President of Business Development & Multi-Platform Distribution, Turner Broadcasting System
• FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker
• FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell
• Tim Harden, President, Supply Chain & Fleet Operations, AT&T
• Milo Medin, Vice President, Fiber to the Communities, Google
• Rose Schooler, GM, Communications Infrastructure Division, Embedded Computing Group, Intel Corp.

Virtual Attendee Brochure
Interested in learning more about the keynotes and programming at TIA 2011: Inside the Network? View the TIA 2011 Virtual Attendee Brochure or download a PDF (8 MB). Also, a video webinar that provides a sneak preview of the event is available on TIA’s Digital Marketplace, which is the virtual event platform that launched April 21. Register to attend TIA 2011: Inside the Network today.

Media registration is free and provides access to all keynotes, panels, conferences in this summit. For more information about media participation in TIA 2011: Inside the Network, please contact Mike Snyder at msnyder@tiaonline.org or at +1.703.907.7723.

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, tradeshows, business opportunities, market intelligence and worldwide environmental regulatory analysis. Since 1924, TIA has been enhancing the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members’ products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment and entertainment.