Spring into a better broadband connection

BLACKSBURG - Spring break rapidly approaches for college students around the state. As you prepare to head off to warmer locations or back home, consider running a speed test during your break from the stressful work of school. While you may be able to instantly stream all the shows you have missed while studying for midterms, not all residents in the state are that lucky.

Many areas within Virginia have limited or nonexistent access to broadband. While this may be a minor inconvenience for some students, it has major implications for many others in the Commonwealth, like having limited access to resources like Blackboard or having trouble completing online assignments.

Increased access to broadband throughout Virginia will benefit everyone by facilitating economic growth, which means more jobs in the future, especially for college graduates. So while you are relaxing at home, take two-minutes out of your day and run a speed test at http://acceleratevirginia.org/speedtest.

The Accelerate Virginia campaign, launched in 2010 as a part of Virginia Tech's eCorridors, is working to raise broadband awareness across the state. Accelerate Virginia is a consumer driven broadband mapping campaign that collects data from speed tests run all over the state. The data collected from every speed test helps build the statewide broadband map, which in turn will be used to identify areas in need of improvement, and ultimately faster and more affordable high speed internet for all of Virginia.

The campaign is seeking consumer input on their Internet connections from every county within Virginia. As college students head home for Spring Break, Patrick Fay, communications manager for Accelerate Virginia asks that, "Everyone in Virginia with an Internet connection participate in this campaign by taking a speed test and then encouraging their friends and family to do the same. By passing the word on via Twitter or Facebook, students in the state can really make an impact."

Remember to run a speed test over your break and encourage your family and friends to do the same. Help us Accelerate Virginia!

By Mary Hawes

Franklin county leads in Accelerate Virginia responses

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Since December 2010, Franklin County has been leading the state in its first county specific Accelerate Virginia broadband mapping campaign.

As of February, the county has collected 212 speed test data points, two-thirds of the way towards its goal of completing 300 speedtests in Franklin County. While there is more work to be done in order to reach the goal, it is clear that the people of Franklin County care about the relevance of broadband related to economic opportunity, modern health care and education.

The government of Franklin County is the first local county to partner with Virginia Tech's Accelerate Virginia campaign to launch a regional Internet speed test campaign.

Residents have been encouraged to run speed tests from their homes and businesses to help develop an accurate map of existing broadband service locations in the county. The data collected from the Accelerate Virginia speed tests will be used to demonstrate where and what kind of Internet services are currently offered to county residents.

By partnering with the campaign, Sandie Terry, Director of Information Technology for Franklin County, hopes that widespread citizen input will generate a more realistic view of the current locations where service providers offer broadband in the county.

"Whether you have a broadband connection or not, please continue to help Franklin County meet its speedtest goal by participating in the Accelerate Virginia speed testing campaign by running a speedtest at www.acceleratevirginia.org/speedtest," asks Jean Plymale, Project Manager for Accelerate Virginia.

Results are needed from areas such as Wirtz, Glade Hill, Calloway, Penhook and the Lake area. After completing the speed test, residents are requested to spread the word about the importance of broadband in their community and encourage their friends, family members and neighbors to run speed tests.

By Mary Hawes

Commerce’s NTIA unveils National Broadband Map and new broadband adoption survey results

WASHINGTON--The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today unveiled the National Broadband Map -- the first public, searchable nationwide map of broadband Internet availability -- and the results of a new nationwide survey on broadband adoption. The data will support efforts to expand broadband access and adoption in communities at risk of being left behind in the 21st century economy and help businesses and consumers seeking information on their high-speed Internet options. NTIA met the deadline Congress gave the agency to create and launch the National Broadband Map by February 17, 2011.

“A state-of-the-art communications infrastructure is essential to America’s competitiveness in the global digital economy,” said Acting Commerce Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank. “But as Congress recognized, we need better data on America’s broadband Internet capabilities in order to improve them. The National Broadband Map, along with today’s broadband Internet usage study, will inform efforts to enhance broadband Internet access and adoption -- spurring greater innovation, economic opportunities, and advancements in health care, education, and public safety.”

“The National Broadband Map shows there are still too many people and community institutions lacking the level of broadband service needed to fully participate in the Internet economy. We are pleased to see the increase in broadband adoption last year, particularly in light of the difficult economic environment, but a digital divide remains,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “Through NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, digital literacy activities, and other initiatives, including the tools we are releasing today, the Obama Administration is working to address these challenges.”

National Broadband Map

The National Broadband Map, available at www.broadbandmap.gov, is an unprecedented searchable database of information on high-speed Internet access. NTIA created the National Broadband Map in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), using data that each state, territory and the District of Columbia (or their designees) collected from broadband providers or other data sources.

The website resulting from this Federal-state partnership includes more than 25 million searchable records showing where broadband Internet service is available, the technology used to provide the service, the maximum advertised speeds of the service, and the names of the service providers. Users can search by address to find the broadband providers and services available in the corresponding census block or road segment, view the data on a map, or use other interactive tools to compare broadband across various geographies, such as states, counties or congressional districts.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “The release of the National Broadband Map, the first of its kind in the nation, is a significant milestone.” This cutting-edge tool will continue to evolve with the help of new data and user feedback. It will provide consumers, companies and policymakers with a wealth of information about broadband availability, speeds, competition and technology, and help Americans make better informed choices about their broadband services.”

The map shows that between 5 - 10 percent of Americans lack access to broadband at speeds that support a basic set of applications, including downloading Web pages, photos and video, and using simple video conferencing. The FCC last July set a benchmark of 4 Mbps actual speed downstream and 1 Mbps upstream to support these applications. NTIA collected data in ranges between 3 - 6 Mbps and 6 - 10 Mbps maximum advertised download speeds, which are the closest measurements to the speed benchmark for broadband that the FCC set.

Other key findings based on the data include:

Speeds for community anchor institutions: The data show that community anchor institutions are largely underserved. For example, based on studies by state education technology directors, most schools need a connection of 50 to 100 Mbps per 1,000 students. The data show that two-thirds of surveyed schools subscribe to speeds lower than 25 Mbps, however. In addition, only four percent of libraries reported subscribing to speeds greater than 25 Mbps.

Wireless speeds:

Approximately 36 percent of Americans have access to wireless (fixed, mobile, licensed, and unlicensed) Internet service at maximum advertised download speeds of 6 Mbps or greater, which some consider the minimum speed associated with 4G wireless broadband service. Ninety-five percent of Americans have access to wireless Internet service speeds of at least 768 kbps, which corresponds roughly to 3G wireless service.

The map will serve a variety of uses. For example, Federal, state, and local policymakers can compare broadband availability among geographic areas and across demographic groups, which can inform policies to support private sector investments in deploying broadband. The data can assist broadband providers in assessing new business opportunities and economic developers as they work to attract businesses to, or address barriers to investment in, their communities. The map will also help consumers and small businesses learn about the broadband service options in their neighborhood or where they may relocate.

The State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program

NTIA created the map through the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, a matching grant program that implements the joint purposes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA). NTIA awarded grants to assist states or their designees in gathering and verifying state-specific data on broadband services. In less than one year, grantees performed two rounds of data collection from 3,400 broadband providers operating in their states, representing more than 1,650 unique broadband companies on the national level. Before sending data to NTIA, grantees used a range of analysis and verification methods, from drive-testing wireless broadband service across their highways to meeting with community leaders for input. Many grantees met with broadband providers, large and small, to confirm data or suggest more accurate depictions of their service areas. Some grantees, unsure of service, performed field investigations. Information on their specific processes may be found on the national broadband map website.

The map will be updated every six months based on input from grantees. Using crowdsourcing tools, the public can help improve accuracy by providing feedback on the data. The map is consistent with the Obama Administration’s Open Government Initiative, undertaking to bring transparency, participation, and collaboration to the way the government operates.

NTIA’s grant program also supports a variety of state-driven efforts to integrate broadband into their economies. In addition to managing this grant program, NTIA will expand its information-sharing and coordination activities in order to serve as a broader resource that empowers state and local broadband practitioners as they develop their individualized plans of action.

Broadband Adoption Data

NTIA today also released a new report previewing data collected through the Internet Usage Survey of 54,000 households, commissioned by NTIA and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in October 2010. The Current Population Survey (CPS) data show that while virtually all demographic groups have experienced rising broadband Internet access adoption at home, historic demographic disparities among groups have persisted over time.

Highlights of the February 2011 Digital Nation report include:

Broadband Internet access at home continues to grow: 68 percent of households have broadband access, as compared to 63.5 percent last year. (In the survey, broadband was defined as Internet access service that uses DSL, cable modem, fiber optics, mobile broadband, and other high-speed Internet access services.)

Notable disparities between demographic groups continue: people with low incomes, disabilities, seniors, minorities, the less-educated, non-family households, and the non-employed tend to lag behind other groups in home broadband use.

While the digital divide between urban and rural areas has lessened since 2007, it remains significant. In 2010, 70 percent of urban households and only 60 percent of rural households accessed broadband Internet service. (Last year, those figures were 66 percent and 54 percent, respectively.)

Overall, the two most commonly cited main reasons for not having broadband Internet access at home are that it is perceived as not needed (46 percent) or too expensive (25 percent). In rural America, however, lack of broadband availability is a larger reason for non-adoption than in urban areas (9.4 percent vs. 1 percent). Americans also cite the lack of a computer as a factor.

Despite the growing importance of the Internet in American life, 28.3 percent of all persons do not use the Internet in any location, down from 31.6 percent last year.

This report, accessible on www.ntia.doc.gov, is based on the first data sets released by the Census Bureau. In the coming months, the Census Bureau will provide NTIA with more geographically detailed data. NTIA intends to release that data to the public through www.data.gov as part of the agency’s commitment to open government and transparency.

Taken from Benton Foundation
Written By Moira Vahey

Hark! Students to Accelerate Virginia by testing their Internet speed this holiday break

BLACKSBURG - While winter break brings a welcome reprieve from the demands of schoolwork and exams, it can also bring frustrations to those of us who must leave our lightning fast college Internet connections and return home to broadband dead zones. The irony of finally having the time to stream TV shows or play online games only to be obstructed by a slow Internet connection is disheartening.

Unfortunately, many areas of our state have limited or nonexistent access to broadband. This may only be a minor inconvenience for some (e.g., missing out on catching up on 30 Rock and having to bake Christmas cookies with your Aunt Rita instead), but it has major implications for many. Inadequate broadband services hold back many Virginia communities' economic growth since jobs that require broadband are expected to increase much more quickly than others over the next ten years.

The Accelerate Virginia campaign is working to increase awareness of the power of broadband and identify areas where access to broadband is limited or not available at all. The campaign is asking college students going home for the holidays to take a speed test of their own and then encourage their friends and family to do the same. Patrick Fay communications manager for Accelerate Virginia said, "We are asking everyone in Virginia with an Internet connection to participate by taking a speed test. And by passing the word on to their friends and family, in person or by Facebook and Twitter, students in the state can really make an impact."

Whether you have a broadband connection at home or not, please visit http://acceleratevirginia.org/speedtest/ to run a brief Internet speed test. Your input will help the campaign to create an accurate map of broadband availability in Virginia that will highlight localities that are in need of broadband infrastructure investment.

Participation in the campaign will also help you to identify alternatives to your existing Internet connection. After completing the speed test, you will receive a detailed review of your broadband connection and a summary of what others in your community are reporting about their service, including provider names, connection types, speed averages, and satisfaction ratings.

Increased access to broadband throughout Virginia will benefit all of us by facilitating economic growth. This translates to increased employment for our communities and more job opportunities for us when we graduate. Please remember to run a speed test over the holidays and encourage your family members and friends to do the same.

Sara Grant, a junior from Blacksburg, Va., majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, is a writer for the Accelerate Virginia campaign.

By Sarah Grant

County seeks help in pinpointing broadband service

Franklin County is the first locality to launch a statewide internet speed test campaign, and residents are being asked to help.

Called Accelerate Virginia, residents are encouraged to run speed tests from their homes and businesses to help develop an accurate map of existing broadband service locations in the county.

Data collected from the speed tests will be used to demonstrate where and what kind of internet services are currently offered to county residents.

Sandie Terry, director of information technology for the county, said about 30 percent or more of the county's population has no access to any form of broadband.

The state's first generation broadband map, initially released in 2009, misrepresented the county's broadband availability, she said.

The initial map was based upon analysis of information voluntarily contributed by public and private sector broadband stakeholders.

However, Terry said the disclaimer on the state map acknowledged the data was incomplete and the map would evolve as more data became available.

The state map depicted a majority of Franklin County as served with broadband, but this conflicted with information collected locally in the same time frame, she said.

Local data showed that hundreds of addresses throughout the county are unable to obtain any form of broadband service, Terry said.

The county and its private wireless internet service provider partner B2X plotted unmet demand based on follow-up site surveys that determined these locations could not be served by their network, usually due to terrain or trees.

By partnering with the Accelerate Virginia campaign, Terry said that widespread citizen input can generate a more realistic view of the current locations at which service providers offer broadband in the county.

Terry is encouraging county residents to help out the program.

To participate in the campaign, they are asked to run one or more Accelerate Virginia internet speed tests, available from the county's website or directly at www.acceleratevirginia.org/speedtest.

Terry said anyone, whether they have a broadband connection or not, can participate.

After completing the speed test, residents are requested to spread the word about the importance of broadband in their community and encourage their friends, family members and neighbors to run speed tests, Terry said.

If the county meets a goal of obtaining data from at least 300 speed tests, the Accelerate Virginia campaign will be able to create an accurate countywide map of reported internet service.

This mapping may be used to seek future grant funding to expand the wireless network, Terry said. The Accelerate Virginia campaign, led by Virginia Tech's eCorridors group, will be conducting other localized internet speed test campaigns throughout the state.

For those who cannot get broadband services at their address, the Federal Communications Commission is asking that it be reported to the Broadband Dead Zone.

Taken from The Franklin News Post
Written By CHARLES BOOTHE

Virginia residents contribute to broadband map

Taken from Virginia Tech News
Written By Patrick Fay
October 18, 2010

An innovative broadband mapping application developed by Virginia Tech faculty members continues to receive national attention as the federal government identifies high-speed Internet access as a critical tool for helping to jump start the economy.

eCorridors -- founded in 2000 by Erv Blythe, vice president for information technology, and led by Brenda van Gelder, executive director of converged technologies for security, safety, and resilience -- initially created a map of community broadband in 2006 to allow Blacksburg, Va., residents to compare the Internet speeds offered by providers.

The Accelerate Virginia campaign will rely on residents' input to construct a map of broadband availability in Virginia.

After the map's release, eCorridors received numerous requests from state agencies in Virginia, North Carolina, and Alaska, as well as national broadband mapping projects, to adapt elements of its speed test and mapping tools.

"Our application is generally recognized across the nation as the first to integrate Web-based mapping with network performance measurement for the purpose of producing volunteered geographic information that can be analyzed spatially as a 'map' of the Internet," said Seth Peery, senior GIS (geographic information systems) architect of eCorridors.

The link to economic growth

Interest in broadband mapping spread to a wider audience in spring 2010, after the federal government released the National Broadband Plan. Created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the plan proposes increasing broadband access to help stimulate business development and job creation.

Many communities are investing in fiber optic infrastructure. This generation of broadband technology uses light waves to transmit information across networks for superior Internet connection speeds.

The growing recognition of broadband as a driver of economic opportunity and growth, as well as other community benefits, prompted eCorridors' leaders to launch the Accelerate Virginia campaign, a statewide expansion of the broadband mapping project accompanied by a consumer education program.

But broadband goes beyond just stimulating the economy. The National Broadband Plan states that every American should have access to affordable high-speed Internet service. That access is critical for many human services, including health care, education, public safety, and local government.

"Over the past decade in working with Virginia regions and communities in the broadband and technology areas, it is clear that broadband access is critical to the economic development, quality of life, education, and health care needs of our citizens and business community," van Gelder said. "This campaign to assess the quality and availability of broadband connectivity will lead to direct benefits for all Virginians."

High-speed Internet access is critical for many public services, such as health care, education, public safety and local government.

Consumer engagement

eCorridors' strategy of going directly to consumers for an assessment of their Internet availability and performance is different because providers have traditionally been the only sources of such information and do not typically make it publicly available. Accelerate Virginia participants are given the opportunity to run an Internet speed test and provide an evaluation of their current service.

In return, they receive a detailed review of their broadband connection and a summary of what others in their community are reporting about their service, including provider names, connection types, speed averages, and satisfaction ratings.

Combined with other data sources, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will use the Accelerate Virginia speed test data to update Virginia's state broadband map of served, underserved, and unserved areas, as well as to validate providers' claimed coverage areas. This data will be used to identify areas in need of broadband infrastructure investment.

Grass-roots movement

To build a sufficiently large sample of residential speed tests, eCorridors is looking to obtain at least 300 speed test data points per county. The Accelerate Virginia campaign is targeting planners, educators, community leaders, student groups, and individuals across the state, educating them about the need for investment in broadband infrastructure, and recruiting them to help run mapping campaigns in their communities.

Campaign resources, such as fact sheets, brochures, door tags, and informational videos will be available for public distribution. Training workshops are also being planned to help communities carry out successful mapping campaigns. Social media sites, such as Twitter and YouTube, are being used to help users share the news about the Accelerate Virginia campaign within their own social networks.

The eCorridors team has been collecting Internet connectivity data since 2006 through a community broadband access map. This research served as the basis for the new Accelerate Virginia broadband mapping application. From left are Jarrod Rife, Patrick Fay, Jean Plymale, Brenda van Gelder, and Seth Peery.

"The Accelerate Virginia campaign is a consumer driven, grass-roots approach for engaging and educating the public," said Jean Plymale, who works in applications research and development for eCorridors.
"I urge everyone to participate by running a speed test and contributing other service details to the Accelerate Virginia broadband mapping campaign," Plymale said. "We have a responsibility to understand what kind of Internet services are available in Virginia."

The eCorridors program

eCorridors is an outreach program founded in 2000 and led by Virginia Tech’s information technology division. Its mission is to facilitate the development of advanced network infrastructure throughout Virginia.

eCorridors provides information to communities about options for high-speed communication technologies and the incentives for network development. In doing so, the program contributes to the state's economic growth by allowing businesses and organizations to acquire and maintain a competitive advantage.

Did you know?

Seth Peery, the senior GIS architect of eCorridors, in collaboration with the Measurement Lab, provided technical assistance to the Federal Communication Commission during the development of its broadband quality test application. At the request of Virginia’s former secretary of technology, Aneesh Chopra, Peery and the eCorridors team also developed customized speed test applications for Virginia’s public schools and libraries.

• For more information on this topic, contact Patrick Fay at (540) 231-8490.

New Online Survey to Benchmark Virginia Business and Household Broadband Usage

The Virginia Tech eCorridors program is supporting an assessment of broadband access to determine the ways in which businesses are connecting to, and using broadband technologies (services and applications). Results from the assessment will be integrated into the Commonwealth’s comprehensive broadband mapping initiative that is currently underway in the Commonwealth and will provide the basis for future broadband policy and training initiatives.

eCorridors urges business owners to take advantage of this opportunity to participate in Virginia's statewide assessment of broadband connectivity and access. To participate in the online survey, please visit www.wired.virginia.gov. Should you prefer to complete a phone or paper survey, please contact Caroline Stolle at the Center for Innovative Technology – caroline.stolle@cit.org or 804-692-2558.