Study: High-speed Internet the connection to greater Iowa revenues

by Donnelle Eller/ Des Moines Register

Iowa businesses with broadband connections are likely to generate more revenue, a new report today shows.

Businesses with high-speed Internet connections have median annual revenues of about $600,000, nearly $300,000 more than businesses without broadband, said Connect Iowa, a group partnering with the Iowa Department of Economic Development to inventory and map broadband use.

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Internet upgrades keep rural Iowans in loop

By Kyle Munson/Des Moines Register

Ann Borseth cracks as many as 50 patients' backs per week in a converted chicken coop that serves as her Country Chiropractic office on her acreage northeast of Truro. High-speed online access has become almost a necessity in her daily life, even in this pastoral rural setting along a gravel road....

...The nonprofit Connect Iowa in conjunction with the Iowa Utilities Board released a report earlier this year that showed 34 percent of Iowa households remain without a high-speed or broadband Internet connection - the vast majority by choice, whether due to lack of interest or concerns over cost...

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Iowa group gets grant to improve Internet access

By Nina Earnest/Daily Iowan:

Connect Iowa received $3.5 million from the federal Recovery Act to improve high-speed Internet access across the state.

Link to Daily Iowan article

Internet mapping project to be updated

By Bob Zientara/The Ames Tribune:

On a hot August afternoon just outside the Ames city limits, two technicians met at a power pole along Arrasmith Trail. One of them was John Determan, a senior WIMAX engineering consultant. The abbreviation stands for “worldwide interoperability for microwave access.”

Link to Ames Tribune article

Iowa Governor Announces Launch of Broadband Availability Map

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.

Iowa gets broadband boost with aid of grant

by Chris Conetzkey/Des Moines Business News

The state of Iowa will receive a matching federal grant worth $2.2 million to help fund a broadband Internet mapping and planning initiative that could help close the digital divide in Iowa by bringing the benefits of high-speed Internet access to the unserved and underserved areas of the state.

Link to article here.