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If you live in a rural region suffering from poor broadband coverage, you might want to spread around this article to your leadership.
It demonstrates how a rural region in Southern Illinois has built the new infrastructure it needs to be competitive.
You can learn more about Connect SI from it's web site.
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Here's a good overview article on the current situation in US broadband. Among the key points:
The US ranks 15th of 30 developed countries in broadband penetration
- 55 percent of adult Americans now had broadband at home, up
from 47 percent last year,
- Only 38 percent of rural Americans homes and 25 percent of low-income Americans had broadband.
The US lacks a strategic approach to improving broadband access and stimulating private investment.
Getting connected: Identifying vertical assets in rural regions
by Ed Morrison. 
When it comes to deploying rural broadband, wireless is often the best (and sometimes only) option. In these cases, regions need to look at their vertical assets: a list of towers, tall buildings, silos, smokestacks and steeples that can provide sites for antennas.
That's exactly what's taking place in Central Virginia, where a study is underway to identify these vertical assets. You can learn more about what's going on here.
Building a regional collaboration in Southern Illinois
by Ed Morrison.
In Southern Illinois, Benton and West Frankfort are only 8 miles apart. Yet they do not collaborate on economic development. Until now. The possibility of a new fiber-optic network is expanding the opportunities to collaborate between these two small Illinois communities.
And that's the point. When you're trying to build collaboration, focus on a handful of different opportunities. Push for some results as quickly as possible. Regional collaboration sounds great in theory, but it only works in practice.
If you're interested in learning more about broadband deployment in rural communities, you might want to check out the ConnectSI website here.
You can read more about the collaboration emerging in Southern Illinois from this article.
The chair of the e-NC Authority focuses on the importance of broadband in this commentary. She argues:
Our economy – in North Carolina, in the United States and around the world – is in transition. This is undeniable. But this transition has also revealed a golden opportunity because people no longer have to move into urban areas to gain education, build a business and make a living. With broadband connectivity, this is accessible anywhere. No matter where you live or work, broadband connectivity enables you to train for a new job, earn an advanced degree, compete on the world stage – and send photos of all these adventures back to Grandma. Brilliant.
However, let’s emphasize that final point – that these enhanced opportunities are possible only where broadband connectivity is available
The conference will explore the example of Ft. Wayne, which has placed broadband at the center of its economic development strategy. You can learn more about Ft. Wayne's broadband strategy from this page.
Measuring the speed of the Internet in Tennessee
by Ed Morrison.
A new service through Connected Tennessee enables counties to measure their Internet speeds. Read more.
Connected Tennessee purchases this service, so any state can provide it.
Broadband cooperative in Northern Michigan
by Ed Morrison.
In northern Michigan a new broadband cooperative is coming together to accelerate the deployment of broadband in that region. You can learn more about what's going on from this article.
You can visit the collaborative's web site here.
