Connected Nation Encourages Everyone to Take Broadband Speed Tests

Connected Nation knows that “Speed Matters.” As broadband availability continues to expand, we realize that speed availability garners more attention. Broadband brings the possibility of useful but bandwidth heavy applications, which demand high download and upload speeds.

Connected Nation has worked closely with Speed Matters, a public policy and awareness campaign by the Communications Workers of America to invest in our national high speed network and close the digital divide. The campaign allows web visitors to test download and upload speeds in order to better assess broadband speeds.

Connected Nation, ConnectKentucky, Connect Tennessee, Connect Ohio, and Connect West Virginia have long participated in Speed Matters’ effort to create and maintain accurate speed maps highlighting broadband availability. Just this year, Connected Tennessee released a detailed speed map highlighting broadband speeds across the state (learn more).

We encourage you, if you haven't already, to go to the Speed Matters website and participate in the download and upload test.

NGA Broadband Best Practices

The National Governor's Association has just released an excellent overview of broadband best practices among states. Connected Nation is pleased to be referenced throughout the report and to have subsidiary activity cited as well, including work in Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. Happy reading...Brian

STATES TAKE ACTION TO EXPAND ACCESS TO BROADBAND COMMUNICATION

NGA Issue Brief Examines State Strategies for Promoting Broadband Deployment, Adoption

Broadband communication is transforming the way Americans use the Internet and creating the potential for significant economic benefits in communities nationwide. Recognizing this, states have employed a variety of strategies to promote broadband access and adoption, which are highlighted in a new issue brief from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) titled State Efforts to Expand Broadband Access.

No Child Left Offline and Duke Energy Donate Technology to Thomas Edison Elementary School

Today, Thomas Edison Elementary School in Covington, Kentucky became the latest recipient of a No Child Left Offline donation. Tomas Edison Elementary School’s Family Resource Center received laptops, printers and audio-visual equipment to better support school students and families. The donation was part of ConnectKentucky’s No Child Left Offline® (NCLO) program, an innovative initiative designed to help close the digital divide among Kentucky’s youth, and a donation by Duke Energy Corporation, a leading energy company focused on electric power and gas distribution operations, and other energy services in the Americas.

Since the creation of No Child Left Offline, more than 2,000 children, families and schools have benefited from the programs distributions.

To learn more about the recent No Child Left Offline Distribution, read more.

Online and In Touch

Connected Nation recently released the second report in the six-part Online and In Touch Research Series. The high-level study highlights broadband’s impact on job searches. According to the study, Kentuckians turned to the Internet in search of their next job as broadband availability and adoption increased. Among other details, the study finds that:

• One third (31%) of adult residents use the Internet to access job searches in Kentucky.
• Nearly half (49%) of Kentuckians with broadband use the Internet to drive a job search.
• Internet job searches continue to grow across the region including urban, suburban and rural areas.

To learn more about the study, click here.

IIA's Exaflood Symposium

The Internet Innovation Alliance is presenting a seminar to discuss the pending issue of an Exaflood, the possibility that high bandwidth applications could overwhelm current broadband networks. Broadband networks now function as core infrastructure. Deployment of more network will continually be necessary as more Americans adopt broadband and create their own content. If you can’t make the event, there is a webcast as well. It looks like a great lineup.

For more information about the symposium or to reserve a spot, please visit the IIA website.

IIA's Broadband Hub

Hat tip to Laura Spining and the folks at the Internet Innovation Alliance for this reference to the Computers for Kids program in TN.
~Brian

Take Note (http://blog.internetinnovation.org/2008/05/take-note/)
9:19 AM May 13, 2008

All too often on this blog, I point out problems that may arrive with the coming Exaflood, or I take time to acknowledge the many stakeholders that have not prepared adequately for the future. I've even directed you to a video or two that mock how absolutely crippled we would be if the Internet were ever to crash. But today I need to ask you to check out a video of a different sort.
Connected Nation's, Computers 4 Kids program, recently released a video that features Lotez Holloway, a beneficiary of the program, and a foster care child who tells us that he has been in six homes and four high schools in five years. Through the program, Lotez now has a computer of his own, and in having that computer, has finally found some calm, stability and hope in his life. By having access to the same tools and technology as more fortunate children, Lotez is achieving in school and has big dreams for his future.
We in the corporate world tend to spout statistics and carefully crafted messages about how important computers and broadband are to the future of our economy, and to our quality of life. But what I love about this testimony is when Lotez, completely unscripted, says it so simply and perfectly. When describing why having a computer is so essential now, he says, "it's like your pencil now."
It's like your pencil now. What else is there to say? Kudos to Connected Nation, and their Computers 4 Kids programs, for having an impact on kids like Lotez. I look forward to sharing more of this kind of video with you.

Posted in Applications , Broadband Access by Laura Permalink Comments (0)

Connected Nation Accelerates Broadband Opportunities in Rural California

Just a quick post to update on Connected Nation’s efforts in California. The CETF is doing good work and we’re glad to be partnering with them. Have a great weekend.

Today at the 2008 Rural Connection Workshop in Redding, Connected Nation and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) announced a partnership to support broadband acceleration efforts in California’s rural regions. The partnership intends to leverage Connected Nation’s successful experiences working jointly with community leaders and technology companies to implement efforts that ensure rural communities can seize the promise of broadband-enabled opportunities.

Kicking off the partnership efforts at CETF’s Rural Connection Workshop, Connected Nation presented details of its broadband acceleration model and discussed relevant best practices with participants. As identified in recent broadband mapping efforts, rural areas of California typically lag behind more densely populated areas in terms of broadband availability. Community leaders in those areas are working to ensure they too can access the economic and quality of life benefits that accompany access to the technology. Key to closing this gap is identifying and increasing the demand for broadband and implementing programs that improve technology literacy and use, Connected Nation leaders told those attending the workshop.

Computers 4 Kids Delivers Computers to Foster Children in Tennessee

Connected Nation’s efforts in TN are bringing together the public and private sectors to engage in meaningful efforts that are having a real impact on digital inclusion. Since the launch of Connected TN home computer ownership in previously underserved areas has grown by 10% while broadband adoption has grown by a very impressive 37% in rural areas specifically. These data are most impressive when we see how they translate to the lives of real people.

I would like to invite you to watch an inspiring video about “Computers 4 Kids,” a program just launched by Connected Tennessee. You will hear the story of Lotez Holloway, a foster care child who has been in six homes in five years, but retains his enthusiasm and drive for educational excellence. “At school these days, basically you need a computer to get along,” says Lotez. “It’s like your pencil now.”

Through the Computers 4 Kids program (an extension of “No Child Left Offline”), Connected Tennessee and its partners are placing computers in the homes of underprivileged children. Why are we doing this? Simple. In order to excel in school, students need a broadband-enabled computer at home, regardless of where that home happens to be.

We congratulate Lotez for his high aspirations and we look forward to continuing to work with you to enable countless other similar possibilities across our increasingly connected nation.

All the Best…
Brian