Radio tower will aid safety forces, bring high-speed Internet - Salem News

KNOX TOWNSHIP- Local, state and federal elected officials converged on the township garage Monday afternoon for a groundbreaking ceremony for a MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communications System) tower that has opened the way for broadband Internet service to the rural community.

The township has leased land behind the garage on Knox School Road to MARCS to erect a tower that will provide communication access to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Columbiana County Sheriff's Office and local safety service departments.

In addition, through partnership with OmniCity and OneCommunity, the township will be allowed to install equipment on the tower that will provide high-speed Internet service to the entire township and surrounding areas.

Stimulus money to fund broadband in region

Apr. 7--The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded Zito Media Communications of Coudersport, Pa., a $6.1 million stimulus grant to create a six-county fiber-optic ring, which will include Ashtabula County.

The grant comes through an alphabet soup of federal agencies -- the money is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -- and is funneled through the National Telecommunica-tions and Information Administration's (NTIA's) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Broadband is the infrastructure, usually fiber-optic cable, over which

large amounts of data can be transmitted. BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers, and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service.

Zito Media, which has cable franchises in parts of Ashtabula County, will use the money create a 382-mile fiber ring with 10 gigabits of capacity across Geauga, Ashtabula and Trumbull counties in northeast Ohio and Erie, Crawford and Mercer counties in northwestern Pennsylvania. The Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania Fiber Ring Project also proposes to facilitate affordable broadband service for consumers and businesses by allowing local Internet service providers to connect to this "open network."