Nashville Technology Council

In a new study, the first of its kind, the feds yesterday released a map (http://www.broadband.gov/maps/availability.htm) of the US with broadband coverage.  Pricing would be a good overlay to this information.  Our own Michael Ramage of ConnectedTN (http://connectedtn.com/) has been hard at work documenting Tennessee’s efforts in broadband coverage.

“The Commerce Department’s telecom policy arm, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, said 32 percent of U.S. households don’t use the Internet at home, a slight decrease from last year.”

“Forty percent of rural homes don’t connect to the Web, compared with 30 percent of urban homes, the agency said. Those who aren’t using the Internet say they don’t think it is a necessity and that prices are too high, and about 9 percent of people in rural areas say they don’t have access to high-speed connections, according to the NTIA.”

Meanwhile at the Nashville Technology Council, we are continuing to look for ways to expand the downtown wifi footprint.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/AR2011021707234_2.html?wprss=rss_business&sid=ST2011021707262

President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to spend $18 billion on mobile broadband. As part of his plan to “win the future”, President Obama has revealed plans to go wireless in the effort to provide 98% of Americans high-speed wireless internet within a few years, reports The Wall Street Journal.

According to a recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the adoption of broadband internet access slowed dramatically over the last year. Two-thirds of American adults (66%) now have a broadband internet connection at home, a figure that is little changed from the 63% with a high-speed home connection at a similar point in 2009.

Most demographic groups experienced flat-to-modest broadband adoption growth over the last year. The notable exception to this trend came among African-Americans, who experienced 22% year-over-year broadband adoption growth.

* In 2009 65% of whites and 46% of African-Americans were broadband users (a 19-point gap)
* In 2010 67% of whites and 56% of African-Americans are broadband users (an 11-point gap)

By a 53%-41% margin, Americans say they do not believe that the spread of affordable broadband should be a major government priority. Contrary to what some might suspect, non-internet users are less likely than current users to say the government should place a high priority on the spread of high-speed connections.

For more information, click here.

XO offers enterprise and government customers advanced IP and networking solutions to maximize performance and simplify management of their networks. XO leverages its extensive nationwide and metro networks to deliver end-to-end solutions and high-demand enterprise services.

Nashville Tech Story (11/11/09)

‘Tis the Season. From now until January 15th, free wireless access will be available in over 45 airports Nationwide, including Nashville International Airport (BNA).  In addition, free wireless access will be available on board Virgin American flights, powered by Gogo® Inflight internet. Are you curious how in-flight wireless access works at 35,000 feet? It is very similar to how a cell phone works with cellular towers.  Click here for a full description.   

Google is also all about giving back to the community, and now you can contribute.  If you make a donation to one of 3 charities, Climate Savers Computing, One Economy Corporation or Engineers Without Borders USA, Google will match your donation 100%.  In addition, the Airport with the most donations, will receive $15,000 to give to the charity of their choice.   

That’s not all.  If you are in a participating airport, take a picture of yourself using the WiFi network and submit to win a number of awesome prizes.  Thanks Google for spreading the Holiday Cheer, and making traveling a little more pleasant through the busy season.  

Click Here for more information

Stimulus Plan – Tennessee

The State of Tennessee has received $572, 701, 043 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act fund. In the fund, $69.93 million has been distributed to urban areas, leaving Nashville and Davison County with $22.65 million to spend on whatever the state deems important. To make sure everything runs smoothly, Tennessee’s Governor, Phil Bredesen, has acquired the assistance of Mike Morrow, Special Assistant to the Governor for Recovery Act Administration, to monitor how the money is being spent.

Numerous individuals and companies will benefit from the money received from the stimulus plan, including those in the technology world. In Tennessee there has been $12,292,400 reserved for education technology.

Tennessee has $11 million in funds allocated to education technology. Some Nashville-area schools have jumped on this opportunity and decided to spend some of the stimulus money on technological innovations for the schools. This would include adding computers in classrooms to give children an opportunity to work and learn on them.

Nationally, there has been $7.2 billion dollars set aside to invest in broadband, which includes funding for education in rural communities. “The purpose of these funds is to build broadband infrastructure and accelerate deployment in these unserved and underserved communities to promote economic development and job creation,” according to the State Opportunities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Connected Tennessee is being held out as a national model for other states to follow.  In addition, there is $350 million for mapping initiatives that follow the ESRI based mapping system built by Connected Tennessee.

Additional Resources to help you track the money:

Recovery.gov

Tennessee’s Recovery Website

Stimulus money to fund three new Nashville area clinics

Stimulus Bill Proposals Include Broadband Networks and Other Information Technology (Opinion)

Stimulus Links

Stimulus Bill Has Billions for Smart Grids

Stimulus Bill to Boost State and Local Information Technology

Is there a National Technology Agenda?

With one of the most technology savvy Presidents in office, you would think that Washington would be openly embracing the Technology Industry.  Unfortunately, the technology industry is not as experienced at lobbying as hospitals, physicians, farmers, and unions.  As a result, it is important that we first define our agenda as an industry and then second to spread the word by meeting with our local, state, and national representatives.

We were fortunate to participate in the TECNA FLY-In in in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 18, 2009.  TECNA is the Technology Councils of North America.  Technology business leaders addressed some of the key issues facing the technology industry and brought the cause to legislators.

TECNA members were in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. Technology business leaders addressed some of the key issues facing the technology industry and brought the cause to legislators.

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