Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
TOM STEPHENSON, community technology advisor for Connect Michigan, passes out information to a group of about 15 businessmen, municipal representatives and others Tuesday on the campus of Gogebic Community College. Stephenson informed the group how to get involved in the initial survey process designed to bring expanded broadband internet access to the western Upper Peninsula.
By IAN MINIELLY
Ironwood - Gogebic Community College President Jim Lorenson hosted Tom Stephenson, from Connect Michigan, for a Tuesday discussion on how to bring broadband internet access at higher speeds to the western Upper Peninsula.
Members from the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region, Gogebic-Iron Broadband Committee and the Western Upper Peninsula Regional Prosperity Initiative also attended, as did local municipalities' representatives and business people.
The businesses and communities are going to be impacted by the survey and the results derived from it.
Stephenson said Connect Michigan wants to map the existing broadband coverage to identify gaps and pockets where coverage can be upgraded to impact either the business or residential community.
Broadband is more than just the internet; it is a general reference used to cover a wide assortment of delivery mechanisms for the internet. It includes several high-speed transmission technologies, digital subscriber lines, cable modems, fiber, wireless, satellite and broadband over power lines.
The survey of the western U.P. is designed to identify what is already present, how effective those methods of broadband delivery are, and if there are other solutions available to bring the internet to under-served areas or businesses. The process, according to Stephenson, follows a basic planning format:
-Team gathering and focus definitions.
-Information gathering.
-Analysis of the information.
-Plan development.
Connect Michigan feels the lack of access to adequate broadband in one of its many forms is a key barrier to education, health care, government services, business growth, attraction and retention of people, and the overall quality of life and appeal of a region.
Stephenson said attention is focused on economic gardening, which is the discovery of local internet habits so different products can be tailored to reach the customer.
Kathy Whitburn, mayor of Bessemer, pointed out one of the key criteria in her home-purchasing selection process and ability to transition her business locally is her ability to connect to the cloud.
Stephenson, in response, provided examples of quality broadband access being a marketing driver for everything from campgrounds to business parks and how access to the internet is a value driver in communities, especially with connected younger generations.
Local residents should expect to see the tailored surveys being advertised throughout the community. The survey consists of 26 questions, according to Stephenson, some of which are optional, and can be accessed at connectmycommunity.org/gogebic-county.
