Missouri Works to Increase High Speed Internet Access and Usage in the Heartland
Missouri Works to Increase High Speed Internet Access
Missouri Works to Increase High Speed Internet Access and Usage in the Heartland
Representatives of MoBroadbandNow visited Memphis recently to release a report detailing Northeast Missouri’s plan to provide increased access to high speed Internet. The area is currently being served by 14 providers.
A random survey was sent to 4000 homes randomly through mail in May 2011out of which 573 returned the survey and 400 of these were analyzed by the company. The results of the survey were as follows:
- 88% of those surveyed staying in Northeast Missouri owns a computer and over 56% of them had it for more than 10 years.
- 12% of those surveyed did not own a computer. The reasons for not owning one being too expensive no need or didn’t know how to use it.
- 88% computer owners have Internet.
- 75% broadband users have high speed Internet.
- DSL is the major type of broadband service. 47% broadband users use it.
- 54% businesses in N.E. Missouri use a cable modem.
- 25% of those surveyed who said they do not have broadband Internet access stay in rural areas like Lewis and Clark counties.
- Average broadband cost is around $30 in the region.
The survey pointed out the digital divide showing rural respondents most likely to have a computer and Internet but less likely to use broadband. MoBroadbandNow’s director said the three challenges faced by the region are availability, usage and non-familiarity with using the Internet.
He further said that one of his company’s goals is to ensure 95% of the area’s residents get broadband access at reasonable rates and speeds to ensure all segments of the community are connected to each other.
Few issues highlighted by the report include:
- Lack of wireless access in rural areas.
- K-12 education challenges; as Internet based homework becomes difficult for students.
- Difficulty faced by local governments in putting services online as it will alienate residents who don’t have Internet access.
Categories: Broadband, Cable Internet, DSL, Internet News, Missouri, Wireless Tags: high-speed Internet, Missouri, MoBroadbandNow
Universities Bringing High Speed Broadband to Surrounding Communities with Project Gig.U
High Speed Broadband
Universities Bringing High Speed Broadband to Surrounding Communities with Project Gig.U
Project Gig.U, headed by Blair Levin of the Aspen Institute, aims to put in place the necessary high speed Internet backbone to support new high tech companies and attract start ups in university towns and surrounding areas. The project includes 30 universities across the country that are bringing blazing high speed broadband to college towns.
The project was announced in late July and plans to target health care, energy, and telecommunications.
Most of the universities that are a part of Gig.U are not located in or close to major cities or are not considered hotbeds of innovation for technology start-ups. The goal of the project is that the new infrastructure, providing broadband speeds of 1Gbps to individuals and businesses, will create a hub where cutting-edge start-ups and other businesses will move to be closer to university researchers and a handful of talented students and grad students.
Since just being announced in late July, the details on funding for the project are still unclear. Levin told the New York Times, that “the group is not looking for government funding to build the network. Instead, Gig.U participants are reaching out to broadband companies and other private investors to partner on building the infrastructure”.
He added, “the idea is that current and existing providers would fund the networks, but that universities and communities could explore ways to improve the business case by lowering capital cost and improving demand.”
Most big name universities already have access to the newest and fastest Internet technology and many are involved in developing networks to help connect them to the world. But Gig.U is about expanding the ultra high speed Internet access outside the university to the communities and businesses.
Categories: Broadband, High Speed, Internet News Tags: Broadband, high-speed Internet
Why Your Broadband Connection Should Be Saving You Money
Do you think of your broadband Internet as an expense, or a way to save money? Internet service is of course a bill, so most of us consider it to be an additional expense, but if you really think about it, broadband service is one of the few elective utilities that has the ability to actually save you money, and possibly enough the pay your broadband bill in the first place by utilizing its features for other elective utilities.
Broadband Internet can save you money on television service, and video entertainment. I honestly don’t believe Internet service will ever be a means to cut the cable. I mean, what would we do without live television, local news, and sports? Although Internet video may not be a cable cutter’s dream come true, it can certainly help you cut the cost of cable TV service with the help of an internet connected set top box or gaming console. If you have the money to put into it, an HTPC (home theater personal computer) would be ideal.
Roku, a set top box can be purchased for less than $60 on the low end. What you’ll get with this is access to Internet video both free, and premium. Two of the most popular premium Internet video sites are Hulu, and Netflix. You could get both for less than $16 /mo which is less than a single premium movie channel package on cable, or satellite in most cases.
Yeah, but I’m still spending money! Ok, so how much would you save by only subscribing to your very basic cable, or satellite package in exchange for Hulu, and or Netflix? Not to mention all of the other web video sites on Roku that are free. As an example, according to CostHelper.com
Comcast, limited basic cable (mostly local, government and public access channels) ranges from $11 -$20 a month. Standard/Starter packages are $50 -$60 a month.
If you’re on the $50 to $60 standard plan, and cut back to the basic plan, plus add both Hulu, and Netflix, you would be saving around $20 to $25 per month on TV service, while still keeping up with nearly all your favorite shows, and having more movies you could ever watch in a year. This savings on average is already nearly half the cost of broadband alone. These of course are just examples, and you can find other set top boxes at a decent price to get started.
Broadband Internet can, and should save you money on your phone bill. This applies to both landline, and cellular if you have a WiFi enabled smartphone. Typically a cheap broadband phone service can be up to 50% less than the cost of a traditional landline phone for unlimited local and long distance, plus they normally offer a lot more calling features for free. Let’s say for example your normal unlimited home phone bill is around $40 per month. There are many VoIP providers that offer unlimited home phone for around $20 per month, and even less. Using this method your broadband connection just saved you another $20 per month.
If you have a WiFi enabled smartphone you can use your home wireless Internet connection for Internet access on your phone instead of your data plan. WiFi on your smartphone has other advantages as well, like being able to make International long distance calls for free using VoIP apps like Skype Mobile, and others. You could use the same method to call your friends in the U.S. who have Skype on their computers, or phones for free, saving your cellular minutes for when you’re away from home.
Lastly, there is a plethora of miscellaneous ways your broadband Internet can save you money. Stamps, checks, paperless billing, comparative shopping, and a tone of others I’m not even going to get in to here. If you were to utilize both methods I’ve mentioned so far, your Internet service would be saving you around $40 to $45 each month. Tack on miscellaneous savings and your broadband not only saved you money, but likely paid for itself.
How has broadband saved you money? Share your experiences, and ideas by leaving a comment below.
Categories: Broadband Tags: broadband internet, high-speed Internet
