Fun Stuff We Do
Podcasts
Contact Us
CBB
Spree
News
Sports
LIVE FEED
Sports Coverage
Commissioners, ISP Sign Agreement to Deploy Countywide Broadband Service
Posted on: 08/24/2012
By
Mike Cullums
The Washington County Commissioners, along
with representatives from internet service provider Smart Networks and the
public broadband advocacy group Connect Ohio, took a big step toward making
countywide broadband access a reality.
The Commissioners and
Smart Networks signed an agreement to sub-lease space on eleven state-owned
Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS) towers around the county in order to deploy wireless Internet service.
The county has standing authorization to use the state towers
and deployment is expected to begin very soon.
Smart Networks says
thousands of homes and businesses currently without broadband will have access by
the end of the year with the initial deployment of wireless Internet equipment
to 5 MARCS towers. The company’s goal is to have countywide deployment on all
eleven towers by the end of 2013.
The first MARCS tower
to be rigged is at Jackson Park in Marietta, which will serve as the system's hub. The company then will move to rural locations, linking each tower site to the Jackson Park signal. Smart Networks says it’s aiming
to get service going in Newport, which is one of the larger communities in the
county with little or no high-speed internet.
The ISP will be
offering its 4G Wimax product to residential customers and its Metro-Ethernet
product to business customers.
Currently, about 6,000
Washington County homes and businesses do not have access to high-speed
Internet, including somelocations just a few miles outside city limits where no cable, DSL or even wireless service is available. That digital divide has had negative effects on education, economic
development, and public safety.
Connect Ohio worked
closely with county officials and the Buckeye Hills Regional Development
District to create detailed propagation studies and business case analysis to
aid in the planning and now the deployment of broadband.
The service will be deployed without the use of taxpayer funds.
Search News From: