Obama gives OK to double broadband spectrum

Chicago Breaking Business

President Obama on Monday signed a memorandum to nearly double the amount of federal and commercial spectrum available for smartphones and wireless Internet devices.

The move is aimed at spurring investment, economic growth and job creation as demand for broadband surges with the boom in wireless Internet devices such as iPhones, BlackBerrys and laptops. Obama said in a statement that “few technological developments hold as much potential to enhance America’s economic competitiveness, create jobs and improve the quality of our lives as wireless high-speed access to the Internet.”

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In the Community

Connect Ohio is committed to sharing its mission of helping to extend affordable high-speed Internet service to every Ohio household in the community. Above, Executive Director Tom Fritz spoke about the mission of Connect Ohio during a presentation to Information Technology students at Ohio University. The conference was called “Telecom of Today: A Local and Global Outlook.”

More research added to BroadbandStat

Chris Pugh
Connect Ohio

Connect Ohio is offering Ohio residents a robust guide to available broadband services with its new mapping data, which is now available on the initiative’s BroadBandStat Web site.

The maps are based on information derived through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Data Improvement Act and the State Broadband Data Development Program.

“The new data includes technology type, advertised speeds and layers that better show connectivity data for communities throughout the state,” Connect Ohio Executive Director Tom Fritz said. “This information will be useful to customers seeking new or improved broadband service.”

The new mapping data comes in addition to February’s release of BroadbandStat, a mapping service which offers local and state-wide education and population demographics, current broadband speeds and availability and research about the barriers to broadband adoption.

Connected Nation, Connect Ohio’s parent organization, joined forces with ESRI, a market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, to create the revolutionary application.

All Connected Nation partner states and territories will be using BroadbandStat to organize the results of data currently being collected on available broadband services.

Connected Nation currently produces mapping and broadband data in twelve states and one territory.

Ohio’s latest mapping research can be foundhere

Funding for the Ohio projects came from a $1.8 million federal grant awarded to the state last December in order to compile and map broadband availability, including location, available speed and type of technology delivering the service.

The maps are updated semi-annually and include data provided by more than 100 broadband service providers across the state.

Work of Connect Ohio, Connected Nation recognized

Chris Pugh
Connect Ohio

Efforts of Connect Ohio and its parent organization, Connected Nation, to expand broadband adoption and access have been touted in recent hearings held on Capitol Hill.

In testimony before a Congressional subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R, OH-5), lauded the work of Connected Nation and Connect Ohio, specifically the research on broadband adoption in the state and commitment to public-private partnerships. “Connected Nation has been a key component at raising awareness (in Ohio),” Latta said in his opening remarks.

Connected Nation Chief Policy Officer Laura Taylor also provided testimony during the hearing, which was held to discuss the recent National Broadband Plan. Her testimony explained how Connected Nation’s efforts have helped bridge the digital divide across much of the nation.

U.S. Rep. Zack Space (D, OH-18) applauded Connected Nation’s “great work” done in overcoming the first hurdle to broadband expansion – mapping, calling Connected Nation “one of the nation’s leaders” in broadband mapping.

Space also said he has a lot of faith in the work being done at Connect Ohio and cited the map of Ohio’s broadband coverage as proof.

New broadband expansion project impacts rural areas of Pike and Adams counties

Rachelle Manson
Connect Ohio

A southwest Ohio wireless Internet service provider is aiming to bring additional broadband access to several areas with the lowest levels of service in the state.

Southern Ohio Communications, Inc. plans to provide high-speed Internet access to sections of Pike and Adams counties currently unserved and/or underserved and also expand its service area. The company currently provides high-speed Internet service in the cities of Waverly, Piketon, and parts of Jasper.

Southern Ohio Communications has partnered with Pike Rural Water Company in order to place wireless equipment on existing water towers strategically located on high elevations. The first one is in Newland Ridge, which is just outside Waverly.

“These water towers are very valuable assets to use and that’s what makes the expansion project affordable,” Southern Ohio Communications President Gary Cooper said. “By using vertical infrastructures such as water towers, the cost of this broadband expansion project is reduced significantly. We hope to provide service to 2,000 Pike County residents without high-speed Internet service in their homes.”

The company has applied for federal broadband stimulus funding in order to expand broadband service for the expansion.

“Even though the project has been started without stimulus funding, both county projects can’t be completed without its help,” Cooper said.

Once funded, Southern Ohio Communications will begin the Adams County expansion project as well. Until then, the focus will be on Pike County’s broadband deployment until existing funds run out.

Connect Ohio research shows that Adams County has a broadband adoption rate of 16 percent, which is the lowest percentage in the state. Pike County’s current broadband adoption rate is 39 percent, which is much lower than the state average of 55 percent.

“It’s our hope that broadband adoption percentages will increase dramatically in Pike and Adams counties with the help of Southern Ohio Communications,” Connect Ohio Executive Director Tom Fritz said.

For more information, visit Southern Ohio Communications website
here

Broadband boosts rural store

Chris Pugh
Connect Ohio

For over 80 years, Pearl Valley Cheese, which is located in Fresno, has been sharing its diverse collection of cheeses with the local and regional wholesale community.
Now the company has reliable access to a whole world of new customers through broadband adoption.

Officials with Pearl Valley Cheese approached Coshocton County Commissioners in 2007 with a request for broadband access. They said that although county metro areas have high-speed Internet, those living outside the towns were using dial-up or expensive satellite service.

“He told us his business depended on the Internet to conduct business as well as the ability to swipe credit cards,” County commissioner Gary Fischer mentioned in a Motorola case study. “Dial-up access was far too slow and unreliable.”

Business and county officials worked hard on the project, which culminated in 2009 with the receipt of a $38,400 federal grant to lease telecommunications towers in rural areas which helped connect Pearl Valley Cheese and others in the area with broadband service.

Connect Ohio State Operations Manager Bart Winegar said the work of Pearl Valley Cheese and Coshocton County was crucial to bringing increased broadband access to the rural residents of the area.

“We’re trying to replicate this model in other areas around the state,” he said.
Store officials are citing broadband for creating incremental sales through e-commerce and for generating additional customer traffic and interest in Pearl Valley’s retail store, where visitors can watch staff members produce cheese during mornings and samples are made available to store customers.
“Since we’ve been able to upgrade with broadband, we’re now able to network seven office computers together, enhance communications, add purchasing and vending support functions and enhance our facility planning and security,” Pearl Valley Cheese President Chuck Ellis said. “We believe that high-speed Internet access has greatly enhanced our operations and improved the profitability of our company by enabling us to efficiently receive and transmit data with outside entities with whom we work with and rely upon every day.”

In addition to Internet and retail sales, Pearl Valley Cheese products are distributed to grocers and specialty retail markets in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.

Connect Ohio’s research shows that broadband-enabled businesses generate twice the sales of their unconnected counterparts and that businesses with both broadband service and a website presence experience sales of 2 1/2 times their competitors with neither.

Ohio Farm Bureau Director of Legislative Relations Chris Henney said the agriculture related food processing industry contributes $94 billion annually to Ohio’s economy. But just 48 percent of agricultural businesses use broadband connectivity to maximize their productivity, according to Connect Ohio’s 2009 research. Niche agricultural producers can especially benefit by expanding markets, streamlining ordering processes, and developing efficient partnerships with packaging, shipping, equipment, and other partners.

To find out more about how broadband connectivity can improve Ohio’s agricultural output, contact your local Extension agent or Farm Bureau representative. The state office’s phone number is (614) 249-2400, while individual county representative contacts can be found at http://ofbf.org/contact/

Free computers are a hit in state libraries

Chris Pugh
Connect Ohio

Connect Ohio recently gave away twelve netbook computers as part of a survey on the need and accessibility of computers and Internet in state libraries. The winners were selected from over 7,000 surveys received by the organization. One of them, Tonya Lynn Compton of Union Township, said this was her first computer.

“I was so excited when I found out I won,” Compton told officials at the library. “I come to the library every day to use the Internet computers. I’ll still be visiting the library even though I won this computer. I love the library.”

Summary of recent Ohio broadband stories

Northwest Ohio

-- Dublin, Ohio has the largest Wi-Fi hotzone in central Ohio according to the press release issued by HighSpeedAir, a family-owned business based in Dublin, Ohio, which is responsible for deploying the network. The primary goals of this network are to enhance public safety and improve the city’s operational efficiencies, while also offering a valuable broadband service option to the community. (MuniWireless)

-- Students in Candace Susa’s Chemistry classes at Dublin Granville High School have been using 120 netbooks for classwork. With the computers students are able to access class questions, labs and notes during the classes and can interface their home computers in the evening with their netbooks at the school. Funding for the netbooks was made courtesy of the Granville Education Foundation. (The Granville Sentinel)

Northeast Ohio

-- The Massillon Board of Education is talking about adding Wi-Fi to its school buses. Superintendent Lisa Carmichael says research has shown that when students have the ability to connect to the Internet, discipline problems decrease. (The Independent)

-- Wireless communications provider Verizon Wireless has completed the integration of its network with that of Alltel in Medina County. This integration is expected to provide customers with clearer reception, fewer dropped calls and more coverage, including stronger in-building coverage. Verizon said that it has been preparing to integrate Alltel's network since completing its purchase of the company last year. (tmcnet.com)

Southwest Ohio

-- Nearly 1,500 prospective students and parents came to an open house at Cincinnati’s Union Terminal for the Ohio Virtual Academy, a K-12 online charter school. The school supplies the computer, broadband connection, and lessons for students. (WCPO Television)

-- National Black Chamber of Commerce President Harry Alford writes in The Cincinnati Enquirer that he applauds investments made in additional Internet access, but warns about proposed increases by some Internet providers.

Southeast Ohio

-- Frontier Communications is now able to start its broadband expansion efforts in Southeast Ohio after The Federal Communications Commission approved Verizon Communications’ plan to sell nearly 5 million telephone lines in 14 states to Frontier.

-- Athens-based Intelliwave received a $2.28 million federal broadband stimulus award to bring broadband service to Athens, Pickaway, and Fairfield counties. Company officials said the funds will be used over the next 36 months to build wireless “last mile” infrastructure to residents and businesses there. (Wireless Internet Service Providers Association)

Connect Ohio partner spotlight: Minford Telephone Company

Rachelle Manson
Connect Ohio

Minford Telephone Company (MTC) started in 1953 offering local landline telephone service.

In April of 2000, MTC formed a subsidiary, Falcon1, and started offering dial-up Internet services.

Minford Telephone Co. upgraded its entire plant by 2004 to offer DSL to all MTC subscribers.

In 2006, MTC started offering Minford Long Distance. In 2009 Minford Telephone Company expanded its serving territory and built fiber to the home in two neighboring towns, Clarktown and Rubyville, Ohio. Minford Telephone Company has currently started construction on Phase 1 of a fiber to the home project in their traditional serving territory.

The company is rebuilding the entire plant in phases to have fiber to the home available to all Minford Telephone Company customers. This will also allow other opportunities for Minford Telephone Co. to expand availability as well as increase adoption in the southeast region of Ohio.

“Minford Telephone Co. heard about Connect Ohio thru OTA. We support the idea for all rural Americans to have high-speed Internet services available to them,” Paula McGraw, Minford Telephone Company General Manager said. “We have worked very hard and we are still working hard to make sure our customers have reliable state of the art technology available to them. Not only does it help us as a small business to have customers sign up for our services, but it also allows so many opportunities for the customer to be able to go online.”

For additional information on Minford Telephone Company, visit here

Indians use broadband to reach fans

Chris Pugh
Connect Ohio

The Cleveland Indians are using a new section of seats with Wi-Fi connections to reach out to fans who want to blog, Facebook and Tweet during games this season at Progressive Field.

“We knew that with our fan base being what it is, and for as many as our fans being in the space, we needed to engage with them in a positive manner,” Curtis Danburg, Indians director of communications and creative services, told an ESPN reporter, “to reconnect with fans, or to connect to a new generation with fans that are into social media.”

The deck is a new effort to ramp up the team’s social media presence and Indians public relations staff member Robert Campbell said the team has been pleased with the response so far.

“The Tribe Social Deck is the physical component of our social media presence,” he said. “It affords attendees the opportunity to not only watch a game live but also network with members of their digital community; often providing attendees the first time to shake hands with someone they had been conversing with for months online.”

Campbell also said in-season updates have included the installation of Wi-Fi connectivity and the addition of high-definition television.

To apply to watch a game in the social media deck, sign up here

Discover the benefits of telecommuting through broadband

Telecommuting can provide new opportunities for the American workforce, but to do so, home broadband availability is a must.

With unemployment rates among the highest they have ever been, telecommuting could provide many of the unemployed an opportunity to make a living again. About 17.5 million Americans who do not currently work would join the country’s workforce if given the opportunity to telecommute through a broadband connection.

The benefits of telecommuting are endless. Not only does telecommuting create jobs and reduce the 
overhead of operating costs, it even reduces the carbon footprint. And with fewer people driving into 
work, there will be less cars on the freeway to create traffic jams during the mad rush to the office. Instead of spending time
in the car, employees can even get a head start on projects and get more things accomplished daily.

Nationally, telecommuters save an estimated $5.7 billion annually in fuel alone. Such a reduction in fuel consumption will significantly contribute to the national goal of energy independence.

For more information regarding telecommuting, 
visit http://www.teleworkexchange.com

Memorial Hospital of Gardena Introduces Innovative Language Services Tool

Memorial Hospital press release

COLUMBUS, Ohio-- Memorial Hospital of Gardena signed an exclusive agreement with Language Access Network, LLC (“LAN”) for video interpretation services. Since being acquired by Avanti Health System in early 2009, MHG has been focused on improving its clinical quality and service. LAN’s introduction represents one of the many initiatives encapsulated in its broader performance improvement plan.

“Proper and timely communication forms the cornerstone of high quality healthcare,” said John Ferrelli, CEO. “With the increasing diversity of an already diverse patient population, we needed a solution that was easy to implement and cost effective, but most importantly, a partner who understood our needs and could customize the right solution. LAN did just that.”

Video interpreting from Language Access Network will enable MHG to provide immediate access to over 170 languages, including American Sign Language, at the push of a button. These services will be delivered via LAN’S dedicated HIPAA compliant high-speed broadband network and through its proprietary remote video interpretation platform known as Martti™. Martti stands for My Accessible Real Time Trusted Interpreter.

DRS, Omnicity to launch wireless broadband

Business Journal Daily

With an acquisition deal ready to be finalized in a matter of days, the companies responsible for bringing broadband connection to Columbiana County via fiber optics say they expect to begin service by August.

Executives from Omnicity Inc. of Indiana last night told members of the Columbiana County Port Authority it’s looking to acquire an unnamed communication company in a few days, which will give it the infrastructure it needs to start building its broadband footprint into the county. And the company reported more good news: It will start generating revenue for the port authority in July, said the vice president of business development, David Weddell.

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Publicity draws more help for Youngstown incubator

Business Journal Daily

Every time a national news organization covers the Youngstown Business Incubator, another media outlet seems to take interest in the area, says Jim Cossler.

Case in point: The 10-page story on YBI in the May edition of Inc. Magazine, which was followed by the visit a week ago by a crew from the British Broadcasting Corp. "They're doing a series on BBC America talking about world-class innovation coming from places that you wouldn't expect it to come from," said Cossler, the incubator's CEO and "chief evangelist," as he styles himself.

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Sports fans break records on Twitter

New York Times

Sports fans have spent the week furtively watching the World Cup during the workday and staying up late to watch the N.B.A. playoffs. They have also been logging on to Twitter.

Despite the serious technical problems that Twitter had during the week, which caused long periods of downtime, three World Cup goals broke the all-time record for the number of Twitter posts written per second, Twitter reported. And those records were quickly shattered Thursday night, after the Lakers won the final game of the N.B.A. playoffs.

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Companies find payoff in Internet-search ads

Atlanta Journal Constitution

A Google search of BP, gulf spill or oil spill pulls up stories and pictures of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

But atop the results page is a paidfor link, “BP.com/GulfOfMexico-Response” that the sullied oil company established to show how it is addressing the crisis.

The page is a high-profile example of how companies use paid online search advertising — a mainstay of marketing in the past few years — not only to sell products but also to manage their messages.

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Sherrod Brown backs Middle Mile Consortium

Sherrod Brown press release

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wrote to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke in support of the Ohio Middle Mile Consortium (OMMC) for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"If we want to promote economic development throughout Ohio, we need to ensure that all households can access the tools they need to become broadband proficient," Brown said. "With these funds, the Ohio Middle Mile Consortium (OMMC) would stimulate economic growth and improve the competitiveness of Ohio communities in underserved areas. We have an obligation to level the playing field for Ohio's workforce - it's an investment in the future of our state."

U.S. Lags OECD Peers in Key Broadband Indicators

SpeedMatters blog

New OECD data shows the U.S. continues to trail many of its industrialized peers in most indicators of broadband penetration, coverage and service.

Among the startling data, the United States has only 26.4 fixed broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants; ranking 15 among the OECD's 31 member countries, behind France, Canada, Germany and eleven others.

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22 Percent of Internet Time Is Social, Nielsen Says

New York Times

Messaging, commenting, blogging, sharing and “liking” now fill up 22 percent of all time spent online each month, according to Nielsen, a market research firm.

Nielsen published statistics on Tuesday saying that people spend one in every four and a half minutes of their online time on a social network or blog. In the aggregate, Web users spend a total of 110 billion minutes on social Web sites and blogs each month.

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Zack Space cities broadband work by Morgan County as evidence that Ohio renewal is working

By Zack Space in The Chillicothe Gazette

Here in Ohio, it's clear that times are tough.

We've been hit hard by an economic downturn of historic proportions. We've seen tens of thousands of our manufacturing jobs flow to countries like Mexico. And our region has long been at an economic disadvantage, causing us to fall further and further behind.

However, realizing our economic potential has never been a stretch. I grew up right here in Appalachia, and I know as well as you do that we've been blessed by God with an unbelievable wealth of natural resources, along with the greatest, hardest workers in the world. If we don't take full advantage of the trends and jobs that we know are coming, someone else will.

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Global broadband hits 484 million subs

Broadband TV News

Global broadband hits the 484 million subscriber mark as more than 14 million lines are added In Q1 2010, the the Broadband Forum announced at a CommunicAsia press conference today. IPTV growth stands at nearly 8% in last quarter, making 46% increase in last 12 months – the most rapid expansion yet recorded.

The figures show that global broadband lines now top 484 million lines (484,788,597), representing a 3.12% growth in the quarter and 12.41% in the last 12 months to end of Q1 2010. The first quarter growth rate increase shows a swelling of positive growth for worldwide broadband. At the same time the number of IPTV subscribers grew to 36.3 million. China and the USA are the top two countries for both broadband and IPTV.

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Guggenheim to showcase YouTube clips

San Francisco Business Journal

YouTube videos, once dismissed as lowbrow humor or work distractions, are moving up in the world. Soon they’ll have the cachet of high art.

New York’s renowned Guggenheim Museum plans a show of YouTube videos in October at four locations. Up to 20 videos chosen by a jury will be exhibited in the New York mother museum as well as Guggenheims in Berlin, Bilbao and Venice.

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Twitter Will Add Places to Its Posts

New York Times

Twitter posts already answer who, what and when. Now they will also tell people exactly where a post was written.

On Monday, Twitter announced on its blog that Twitter Places is going live. Twitter users can tag their posts with their precise location — like Alcatraz or the Columbus Circle Whole Foods — and people can search for all the posts written from a specific location.

Twitter’s founders have talked about the need to develop ways in which people can find the messages that are most relevant to them. This is a big step. If someone is walking into a concert and wants to know why the line is so long, for instance, they could search for the posts written from Madison Square Garden. If there are emergency vehicles outside a hotel, they could search posts written from the hotel.

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Youngstown explores broadband for business parks

Business Journal Daily

Businessmen operating companies where Youngstown hopes to establish broadband service say their companies stand to benefit greatly -- and high-speed Internet connections are absolutely essential to prosper in today's marketplace.

Mayor Jay Williams wants City Council to authorize the applying to the Appalachian Regional Commission for financial assistance to install broadband telecommunications fibers in the Ohio Works and Riverbend industrial parks. The total cost of the project would be $175,000, with the city required to put up a 50% match for the funding.

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Starbucks to Offer Free Wi-Fi Service

Wall Street Journal

Starbucks Corp. will make wireless Internet service free at all U.S. stores starting July 1, eliminating a previous fee of $3.99 for two hours of access.

The move comes after McDonald’s Corp. earlier this year dropped all access fees on wireless Internet service, as the fast-food chain sought to make its restaurants a more suitable place to hang out.

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Marietta businessman remains undeterred after rebuff on broadband tower

Marietta Times

The local owner of a company that wants to provide wireless high-speed broadband Internet services to the Marietta area plans to continue his efforts in spite of a recent setback from the Marietta Planning Commission.

Marietta resident "Peter" Wei Chung Sheng, with American Broadband Communications LLC, was denied a variance that would allow the company to erect a 150-foot-high tower on property Sheng owns along Grandview Avenue in the Norwood area.

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Lower mobile broadband costs may be result of digital TV conversion

Walletpop.com

Looking back on the past year of digital TV, Retrevo.com, an informational site about consumer electronics which can help shoppers find manuals and research purchases, asked more than 200 older visitors to their website what the digital TV transition meant one year later.

While the majority of respondents were unaffected by the DTV transition, because they have cable or satellite service, and many over-the-air viewers purchased a converter box as part of the government program, there were still a good number of individuals who took alternate routes to keep their TV signal going.

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Wireless high-speed Web plan revived in Washington County

Marietta Times

The Sequelle project was aimed at putting Washington and Wood counties on the cutting edge of high-speed Internet technology.

But instead of providing the area with affordable wireless Internet access, the federally funded startup company failed, and its former CEO was convicted and sentenced in April to 18 months in prison on money laundering charges.

Now, nearly 10 years after Sequelle's inception, Washington County may still get what it was promised, said county Commissioner Cora Marshall.

Marshall said Washington County is negotiating with state officials to take advantage of Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS) towers that were constructed across the region about six years ago.

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State Senator talks about support for broadband access in article

By Tim Schaffer
Newark Advocate

During debate on SB 162 in the Senate, I gained approval of an amendment that creates the Select Committee on Telecommunications Regulatory Reform. This eight-member panel will be composed of four legislators, a representative of the Governor's office, a representative from the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, a representative from the telecommunications industry and one person from the Ohio Consumers Counsel. The committee is tasked with examining the impact of SB 162 on telephone rates, how people are getting Lifeline services and advances in broadband Internet deployment to rural Appalachian areas. It will have to report back to the General Assembly with its analysis no later than four years after the bill goes into effect.

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Wide-scale broadband in Jackson County plan pitched

Jackson County Times-Journal

Jackson County’s Economic Developement Board is pitching a plan that could help boost the local economy and broadband access.

Economic Development Specialist for the Jackson County Economic Development Board (JCEDB), Sam Brady, attended the Wellston City Council meeting on Thursday evening as the first stop of a five-stop swing that will include the other three municipalities in the County, as well as the Jackson County Commissioners, with a plan that could potentially provide the City of Wellston with some much needed revenue, in addition to providing the City and many other areas in Jackson County with broadband access.

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Frontier will take over 400,000 Verizon Ohio landline and Internet customers in July

Plain Dealer

More than 400,000 former Verizon landline and Internet customers will be getting a new service provider next month.

Frontier Communications says it should be an easy transition for customers whose accounts are being purchased as part of an $8.6 billion acquisition. Frontier, which specializes in providing telephone and Internet service in rural areas, will acquire Verizon landline assets in Ohio and 13 other states by July 1.

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Ohio House passes bill to loosen telephone regulation

Plain Dealer

A bill that would loosen state regulations on traditional landline phone providers is on its way to Gov. Ted Strickland for his signature after months of debate in the Ohio legislature.

Telephone companies, such as AT&T, say the legislation approved early Friday would create a more level playing field with cable and Internet phone competitors who do not face the same regulations.

WOW! expands cable, Internet, phone service to University Heights

Sun News

University Heights residents will have another choice this summer for their cable television, Internet and telephone service.

WOW!, a company based in Englewood, Colo., with a regional office in Berea, will offer service in those categories, Kirk Zerkle, WOW! vice president and system manager, told City Council May 17.

Zerkle said WOW! construction teams hope to begin installing strand, fiber and cable equipment on utility poles in the city this week. They hope to complete their work by the end of September, he said.

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Grant funds, wireless deployment move forward

Coshocton Tribune

Coshocton County Commissioners moved forward on plans for a $120,000 grant for various improvements.

The commissioners had the second required public hearing on Community Block Development Grant formula funds Wednesday.

With no public objection, the grant will be finished by Friday, with commissioners to approve a resolution to submit on Monday. The grant must be submitted for consideration by June 25.

Commissioners also met with David Weddell of Omnicity on the deployment schedule of county broadband wireless equipment and services. He said the hope is to have full deployment by Sept. 1.

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Exacter partners with utility repair firm

Business First of Columbus

A company that helps electric utilities find trouble in their transmission lines has found a partner to help make repairs.

Columbus-based Exacter Inc. formed an alliance with Par Electrical Contractors Inc., a company with national reach that specializes in high-voltage transmission and distribution lines and electrical substations.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Par Electrical is part of Quanta Services Inc., a Houston-based infrastructure services company with operations in the electric power, telecommunications, broadband cable and gas pipeline industries.

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Omnicity set to deploy Motorola gear in major build-out through Ohio, Indiana

Marketwatch

Omnicity Corp, the Midwest's largest and fastest growing fixed wireless broadband service provider, announced its intention to roll-out Motorola's Wireless Networking Solutions product line into its build-out of acquired wireless Internet service provider assets and in aggressive market expansions throughout Indiana and Ohio.

Omnicity has completed 10 acquisitions since February 2009, driving subscriber counts to over 12,000, a 600 percent increase in that period.

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Retail giant to build technology center in New Albany

New Albany News

New Albany will soon be home to yet another corporate giant.

Leading bargain retailer TJX Companies Inc. will be moving into the village this summer, village officials announced Monday, May 24.

The company is preparing to build a 60,000-square-foot, $84 million technology center in the village's research and information district.

The news follows last week's announcement that the village was one of two finalist cities in a nationwide search for a site to build the technology center.

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Clearing of Wehrle site reaching halfway point

Newark Advocate

Mid-Ohio Development's efforts to clear what will be one of the largest development sites within Newark city limits already are about 40 percent complete.

The company began clearing the old Wehrle Stove Co. and Roper Manufacturing site earlier this year of the dilapidated buildings that have plagued that portion of Newark.

When the project is complete, 25 acres of land will be opened for new industry within the city.

It is a move that local leaders have praised, particularly because the benefits of the site might make it attractive to business.

"It has a huge amount of advantages," Licking County Economic Development Director Rob Klinger said. "It has skilled labor right around it. It's got phenomenal highway access and then it is has got rail service. ... Not a lot of sites have rail service."

In addition, the site has easy access to broadband, water and sewer.

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After Republican letter, majority of Congress oppose FCC plan

Hillicon Valley (The Hill's technology blog)

A majority of lawmakers have lined up against the FCC's plan to wield greater power over broadband companies.

A group of 171 House Republicans on Friday joined Democratic critics in opposing the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to classify broadband as a telecommunication service, which they suggested was a power grab.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who is spearheading the reclassification, the Republicans reproached his ambition and said only Congress should decide where to classify broadband services.

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Verizon completes integration of Alltel's network in Portage County

TMCNews

(EquityBites Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) US wireless communications provider Verizon Wireless has completed the integration of its network with that of Alltel in Portage county in Ohio, Verizon announced on Thursday.

This integration is expected to provide customers with clearer reception, fewer dropped calls and more coverage, including stronger in-building coverage.

Coverage areas directly affected by the network integration include Kent, Mantua, Shalersville and Windham.

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