MOBroadbandNow

MARC RTPT Meeting

annaread — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:49:32 +0000

June 28, 20139:00 am

Mid-America Regional Council Offices

600 Broadway, Suite 200

Kansas City, MO 64105

New Maximum Advertised Download Speed Maps Now Posted

annaread — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:53:19 +0000

Statewide and regional Maximum Advertised Download Speed maps are now posted on the MoBroadbandNow website. These maps, like the High Speed Availability maps, are designed to give consumers an idea of what speeds they can expect to have access to given the provider data available to MoBroadbandNow. However, unlike the High Speed Availability maps, this series displays only the download speeds that providers are able to offer consumers and does not group multiple speeds into categories. As a result, a wide range of speed tiers are displayed, from less than or equal to 200 kilobits per second (yellow) to greater than or equal to 1 gigabit per second (blue).

These maps display both wired and wireless Broadband providers. Data are current as of December 31, 2012.

USDA Announces Community Connect Application Deadline

annaread — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:59:39 +0000

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that up to $21 million in funding may be available through the Community Connect Grant program. The Community Connect Grant Program brings broadband service to the most underserved rural communities in the country — communities where broadband service is not currently available and can have a positive impact on local quality of life. USDA has invested $122 million in Community Connect Grants since the program began, including in four projects in Missouri.

New rules to help target Community Connect funding to the communities that need it the most were announced earlier this year.

To view the full funding opportunity in the Federal Register, click here. Webinars will be held June 18 and 25, and July 2 from 1pm to 3pm EDT.

Applications must be submitted by July 11, 2013.

Mo-Kan RTPT Meeting

annaread — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:31:10 +0000

June 17, 2013 - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Enright Community Room 216

Leah Spratt Building

Missouri Western State University

St. Joseph, MO 64507

NTIA “Broadband Briefs” Examine National Broadband Trends

annaread — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 10:00:50 +0000

A new series of “Broadband Briefs” published by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) examines broadband trends nationally. The first brief, “US Broadband Availability: June 2010-June 2012,” looks at current availability, overall changes in availability, and the states with the greatest access to broadband. The second brief, “Broadband Availability Beyond the Rural/Urban Divide,” looks at communities in five categories on the rural-urban continuum and finds that the rural/urban divide in broadband access is more complex than previously understood.

Key findings from the reports include:

Between June 2010 and June 2012, broadband availability increased at all speed tiers, with the greatest increases at the highest speed tiers
Wireless access has increased dramatically, but speeds remain lower than for wired access
More urbanized states have the most broadband access — 13 of the 15 most urbanized states overlap with the 15 states with the most broadband access
There is a rural-urban divide in access and the divide becomes more pronounced at higher speed tiers
Central cities and suburbs have the highest rates of broadband availability, while very rural communities (11 residents per square mile) have the least.

Harry S Truman Coordinating Council RTPT Meeting

annaread — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:05:20 +0000

June 20, 2013 - 10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Harry S Truman Coordinating Council Office
800 E. Pennell St.
Carl Junction, MO 64834

Apps for Agriculture

annaread — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:00:14 +0000

Agriculture is high-tech and information dependent industry. In a MoBroadbandNow survey of Future Farmers of America, 91 percent said that it was at least somewhat important (with 41 percent saying it was very important) that all Missouri farming operations have high-speed Internet service. In a MoBroadbandNow agriculture needs assessment survey, the most commonly reported uses for broadband in farming operations were getting general news and weather information, getting market and commodity information, banking online, and connecting to agricultural or farming association/cooperative websites.

New apps for smart phones and tablets are being developed to support precision agriculture and improve safety. University of Missouri researchers recently developed an app called the Vehicle Rollover Prevention Education Training Emergency Reporting System (or VRPETERS for short), which can detect a tractor rollover and send the location and an emergency response notification. Tractor rollovers are the leading cause of on-the-job death among farmers.

A number of other applications are on the market, which allow farmers to check weather and market data, and collect and geo-reference data related to farming operations.

To learn more about how the Missouri’s agricultural community is using broadband in farming applications and potential benefits, see these reports on Broadband Access, Usage, and Potential on Missouri’s Farms and in Rural Communities and the Benefits of Expanded Broadband for Missouri’s Farms and Agribusiness.

Pioneer Trails RTPT Meeting

annaread — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:55:05 +0000

June 21, 2013 - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

802 S. Gordon, Room 203

Concordia, MO

New Broadband Adoption Resources

annaread — Fri, 24 May 2013 10:00:45 +0000

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently published the Broadband Adoption Toolkit, a resource focused on strategies for “helping to close the digital divide” and increasing broadband adoption among the nearly one-third of the Americans who do not have a broadband connection at home.

The toolkit examines adoption activities in four areas, using case study examples focused around the barries of access and availability, cost, perception, relevance, and skills. The four areas are:

Awareness and outreach
Home computers
Training planning and delivery
Curriculum and relevant content

NTIA also held two webinars highlighting broadband adoption case studies from around the country. Archived versions of the webinars are linked below:

Boonslick RTPT Meeting

annaread — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:04:02 +0000

May 29, 2013 - 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Boonslick Regional Planning Commission

111 Steinhagen Road

Warrenton, MO