Broadband initiative gains local support
By - Karin Beery, Correspondent (February 04, 2010)
On Wednesday, January 27, the local Broadband Adoption Leadership Team hosted an informational meeting at the downtown historic Elk Rapids Town Hall. Their goal is to bring broadband speed internet to Elk Rapids and the surrounding areas. They are currently applying for a federal grant to help make that possible.
Leadership team members are Barb Mullaly, Sheila Marker, Scott Perron, Terry Miller, Tom Dolembo, Tina Fields, and John Mathews. Mullaly emceed the event. Technical advisors are Tim Maylone, Steve Francis, Bob Peterson, and Jim Selby. The group has been meeting for three months at 7:30 a.m. on Friday mornings at the police station, having put in almost 1000 hours of work toward bringing broadband to the Elk Rapids area community.
A primary concern of the leadership team is to make Elk Rapids a competitive market for business and education. Mullaly stressed the point that more people are telecommuting these days. If broadband becomes available in Elk Rapids, it will allow for these professionals to move into the area and expand the economic base without having to develop more land for storefronts.
Miller pointed out that broadband internet will help equalize the schools in the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District by making classes from one school available to all of the other schools via the internet. Dolembo explained that broadband can even help reduce farming costs by giving farmers access to information so they know exactly when and where to spray their crops.
Businesses, schools, organizations and individuals in the area could benefit from a reliable broadband internet technology. Tim Maylone, a project adviser from Cherry Capitol Connection, answered many questions about how broadband compares to other internet connections and its cost.
The purpose of the Broadband Adoption grant is to “stimulate the economy and create jobs through funding broadband deployment projects.” The grant is funded through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which “provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in un-served and underserved areas.”
The leadership team believes that Elk Rapids and most of northern Michigan is underserved and qualifies for the grant money. Their plan is to include as many of the local townships as are interested in supporting their goal. Other townships seemed interested, as attendees at the meeting represented Torch Lake, Milton, Elk Rapids, and Whitewater townships.
While DSL and cable internet are adequate speeds for home use, Maylone said they don't meet the standards for businesses, including those people who telecommute. He explained that the grant will help with the upfront cost of making broadband available to the community as a utility. The estimated cost for that is $1.25 million. The leadership board would set the monthly rate. If the grant is received, Maylone anticipates residents would pay $17-20/month for broadband access.
Photo Caption: Digital X-Rays shared on internet. All Smiles dentistry owner Scott Perrin uses high tech digital panoramic X-Rays to examine patients in his office on River St. in Elk Rapids. Here he completes a practice session on employee Christine Carroll to demonstrate the technology that captures a complete set of teeth in one pass. Software enhancements to the scan can allow Perron to make full 3-D images that require larger data files. These files and those collected at patient chairs can be shared around the world with other professionals, including his equipment manufacturer who can trouble shoot problems and solutions remotely. He sees many advantages to broadband internet service as technology improves in the future. Photo by Tom Vranich
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