From BroadbandBreakfast.com

By Lindsey Sutphin, Reporter-Researcher

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2010 – As a part of an effort to make a comprehensive, national map, states are mapping broadband coverage and options available in their states. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires the National Telecommunications and Information Association to have the national map of broadband coverage publicly available by February 2011.

This initiative has spurred billions of grant dollars to organizations mapping their states. Connected Nation is the private-public partnership organization providing the mapping technology and guidance to the state efforts.

Brian Mefford, CEO of Connected Nation, said, “In today’s digital world, being connected to the Internet is critical to preserving and improving lifestyle. Whether you live in a rural or an urban area, broadband gives you the opportunity to work from home, take online classes, and market your products – all of which have an impact on the local economy.”

Thus far, most of the states are being mapped through ESRI’s BroadbandStat mapping systems, which were funded by NTIA grants. Connect Michigan, Connect Minnesota, Connect Nevada, Connect South Carolina, Connect Texas, Connect Alaska, and Connect Iowa are the entities responsible for collecting their state’s data and producing the maps.

The Michigan Public Service Commission received $1.8 million in NTIA grants for its map. In the next 18 months, Michigan’s BroadbandStat map will be updated as additional data becomes available. Michigan’s map includes functions for users to identify population density in an area, identify households with no broadband access, link to news about broadband-related projects, and create charts and reports.

Connect Nevada was awarded $1.4 million in grant funds, and its map includes data about the availability, speed, location, and types of service from the state’s 35 broadband providers. In order to facilitate actual use of the map, Connect Nevada and Nevada’s Broadband Task Force conducted a live demonstration, which was also broadcast online. Leaders and experts in various fields, including agriculture, education, and healthcares, learned how they could customize the map’s functions to their specific needs.

Texas also held a web conference to demonstrate the use of its broadband map. The state has already utilized its map to identify and research the broadband adoption rate, which is only 62 percent in the state. After determining that the two major factors for non-adopters were a lack of relevance and costs, Connected Texas divided the state into geographic blocks, based upon information from the 138 providers in the state. Each block contains a number of households and connectivity data for each predefined area. By outlining specific areas, Connected Texas can better target the needs of each locality in the state.

Both Connect Minnesota and Connect South Carolina worked with the existing broadband providers in their states to identify areas without broadband. They also collected data from community anchor institutions, such as libraries and schools, which are potential access sites for broadband service.

Connected Iowa used its $2.2 million grant for an interactive state map that is currently seeking public feedback and participation. Based upon the feedback, Connected Iowa will conduct planning efforts for broadband expansion based upon the map’s information.

Iowa’s Governor Culver said, “Iowa has made great strides in spreading broadband across the state. In fact, 177 broadband providers offered data showing that the vast majority of our citizens can access broadband. However, only 66 percent of residents report using broadband at home. Through this effort we will continue the progress of getting our citizens online and accessing the unlimited benefits associated with broadband.”

In Alaska, Connected Alaska is working with the state’s Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development to facilitate job creation through their $1.9 million NTIA grant. Since Alaska is more remote than most states, it is particularly interested in the opportunities that broadband can create for higher education purposes.

As Connected Nation works with states to complete an overall national map, citizens, broadband service providers, government organizations, and entrepreneurs are using the state maps to identify opportunity.

Link to article

Des Moines, IA – Governor Chet Culver today announced the launch of Iowa’s first statewide broadband availability map. The web-based map is fully interactive and puts powerful tools and information directly into the hands of anyone interested in improving the technological landscape in Iowa.

“This newly completed map paves the way for technology to follow, which will create new jobs, increase Iowa’s economic competitiveness, and deliver services that have been previously unavailable to rural areas of the state,” Governor Culver said. “Iowa has made great strides in spreading broadband across the state. In fact, 177 broadband providers offered data showing that the vast majority of our citizens can access broadband. However, only 66 percent of residents report using broadband at home. Through this effort we will continue the progress of getting our citizens online and accessing the unlimited benefits associated with broadband.”

Much like the revolutionary impact of harnessing electricity or the telephone, high-speed Internet connection is Iowa’s lifeline to future prosperity. The development of Iowa’s map is funded by a federal stimulus grant and is guided by the Connect Iowa initiative, in partnership with the Iowa Utilities Board. Connect Iowa is a subsidiary of the national nonprofit Connected Nation and is Iowa’s designated entity under the grant award.

Full access to Iowa’s interactive map is available now through the Connect Iowa website at http://www.connectiowa.org/.

“The completed Iowa state map shows what broadband services are currently available down to the Census Block level. Connect Iowa, in collaboration with the state’s broadband providers, will update the map on a routine basis to reflect real-time broadband availability so that policy makers, Internet providers, and the general public can use the maps to make informed decisions about broadband investment and expansion,” explains Brian Mefford, CEO of Connect Iowa’s parent company, Connected Nation. “The goal of our nonprofit organization is to expand broadband access to areas where it doesn’t exist and improve the quality of service in areas that are already served. Iowa’s newly completed map is the first major step in this process.”

Iowa’s BroadbandStat map will be explained in detail Tuesday, June 22, 2010 by Connect Iowa staff. The public demonstration will take place via webinar at 10 a.m. CDT. Media, broadband providers, and the general public are invited to attend by signing up through the Connect Iowa website, http://www.connectiowa.org/.

All Iowa residents are encouraged to visit http://www.connectiowa.org/ to join in this important initiative and offer feedback. The website gives residents a one-stop-shopping portal where they can find providers at their address, check their current Internet speeds, request broadband service in their area, and share stories of how high-speed Internet has impacted their lives.

Connect Iowa is funded through a $2.2 million award by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to launch the initiative in the state and carry out the work over a five-year period. Under the NTIA State Broadband Data and Development grant program, Connect Iowa is charged with creating statewide awareness, mapping, and maintaining the state broadband inventory for two years, and conduct planning efforts for a period of five years. These funds are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. NTIA, as required by the ARRA, will make a national broadband map publicly available by Feb. 17, 2011.

By increasing broadband access and use across the state, Iowa is facing a bright future, with greater opportunities, and a new throughway to economic empowerment.

From the American Farm Bureau Federation's FB News:

By Sabrina Matteson

Broadband Internet access unlocks doors that might otherwise be closed for job opportunities, telecommuting, education, entertainment, commerce, government services, communications, medicine and health, and social and community networking.

Connect Ohio, a subsidiary of the national non-profit Connected Nation, had an eCommunity Strategies (eCS) meeting in Urbana, Ohio, in early June to showcase its grassroots approach to deploying broadband in rural areas. Community leaders from agriculture, business and industry, government, community-based organizations, recreation and tourism, health care and education gathered to create a comprehensive picture of the community in terms of broad and deployment.

Read More from FB News.

From an ESRI press release:

Four States Inaugurate Maps Showing Detailed Broadband Coverage

Redlands, California—The states of Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and South Carolina are now providing easy-to-use maps that show in detail each state's broadband coverage. The interactive, online maps are made possible by BroadbandStat, an application based on ESRI geographic information system (GIS) technology, and will help the states plan and improve high-speed Internet access for their residents and businesses.

The BroadbandStat maps were funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and contribute to the comprehensive national broadband map that NTIA is required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to create and make publicly available by February 2011.

"A complete, interactive broadband map is now available for customers, Internet service providers, and policy makers," said Orjiakor Isiogu, chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), about the new map hosted on the Connect Michigan Web site. "This is an important first step as the state seeks to target resources to those areas of the state without high-speed Internet service."

Interactive tools include the ability to identify the population density and unserved households in a selected area, link to news about broadband-related projects, and create reports and charts.

MPSC received a $1.8 million NTIA grant to launch its broadband mapping and planning initiative. Over the next 18 months, Michigan's initial BroadbandStat map will be updated and refined as additional data becomes available. Connect Michigan, Connect Minnesota, Connect Nevada, and Connect South Carolina are the entities tasked with collecting the data and producing their states' online maps. All are affiliated with the nonprofit Connected Nation organization, which partnered with ESRI to create BroadbandStat.

Connect Nevada was awarded $1.4 million in stimulus funds through the NTIA for broadband mapping and planning. Nevada's broadband map includes data collected on the availability, speed, location, and type of broadband services from more than 35 state broadband service providers.

During the inauguration of his state's BroadbandStat map, Nevada governor Jim Gibbons said, "Nevadans will now have a map that not only puts information about available broadband services at their fingertips but also defines where the state and the private sector need to focus their attention to bring high-speed Internet to every part of our state."

Connect Minnesota and Connect South Carolina worked with their state broadband service providers to accurately pinpoint remaining gaps in broadband availability across the state. They also collected data from community anchor institutions such as schools, universities, libraries, hospitals, and public safety facilities, which are potential sites for providing community access to broadband services.

For links to each state's interactive maps and more information on BroadbandStat, visit www.esri.com/bbstat.

Press Release link