Along with town supervisor Keith Batman, a group of town residents has begun a volunteer committee working to bring a broader range of high-speed internet options to Scipio.
Our group has been exploring a variety of options for the town, taking into consideration the availability, cost, and reliability of several technologies. Additionally, we’ve been exploring possible sources of grant funding to support the development of infrastructure.
The broadband committee is currently developing a survey to help assess the town’s needs and desires concerning high speed internet. The survey will address both individual and business needs, and it will be distributed in a variety of ways. We’ll be taking responses at cleanup day, held on the first Saturday in October. Copies of the survey will be available in the town barn during and after cleanup day as well. If you’d like a survey mailed to you, please leave a message at the town barn at (315) 364-5740. Finally, we’re working on an electronic version, which will be available on this site sometime in the next few weeks.
In an effort give everyone an opportunity to participate, committee members and volunteers will call town residents who’ve not filled out a survey in any other form. We promise that the survey will be brief and respectful of your time. Your participation will help us to develop strong grant proposals and negotiate wisely with internet service providers.
For more information, or if you would be willing to help call town residents for our survey, please call Keith, leave a message at the town barn, or leave us a comment below.
Current members of the Scipio Broadband committee are:
Keith Batman
Anne Cramer
Vivian Cunningham
Barbara Loomis
James Macbeth
Tina Post
Mikey Russell
Mark Temelko
5 Comments so far
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I just read interesting article in Raleigh NC paper:
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1292569.html
about IBM revisiting the idea of broadband over power lines.
Regards,
Comment by Mike J. Hoey November 13, 2008 @ 12:53 pmMike
I’m a summer resident on Owasco in Scipio township. I check out the township website occassionally and was aware of the broadband committee. I saw this article in the Wall Street Journal and thought this technology might be another one to consider.
“International Business Machines Corp. said it has been hired to work with rural electricity cooperatives to provide high-speed Internet service over power lines.
The project is a sign that using the electricity grid for communication — a technology utilities have long been interested in — has finally matured.
IBM said it signed a contract with closely held International Broadband Electric Communications Inc., Huntsville, Ala., to manage the installation of broadband systems at 13 cooperatives in seven states. The initial contract is for $9.6 million, but an IBM official said the company anticipates getting more business from some of the nation’s 900 other rural electricity cooperatives. IBM said it is also working with electric utilities overseas.
The system works by using standard power lines to carry a radio-frequency signal in the magnetic field that surrounds the wires. The signal is continuously amplified by low-priced repeater boxes clamped to the lines. When an electricity customer signs up for broadband services, the supplier mails out a special modem that is plugged into the wall outlet where the computer is plugged in. Pricing starts at $29.95 a month, International Broadband says.
Electricity providers have for some time seen the Web communications potential in their wires, but, until recently, the necessary signal-transmission devices have been too slow for high-speed connections and too expensive to compete with existing telephone wires. More recently, the technology has improved, but big utilities couldn’t see a way to compete with established cable and telecom carriers in urban and suburban areas.
But rural areas, which account for most of the 30 million U.S. homes that don’t have broadband access, provide an opportunity. Internet providers have avoided these locales because the population is too sparse for cable or phone companies to lay fiber or coaxial cable profitably, and hills and trees disrupt wireless networks.
Rural cooperatives, responding to their member-owners, have tried to find ways to get broadband installed. International Broadband developed repeaters that can easily be attached to power lines every quarter of a mile to maintain the signal. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made loans available to jump-start some broadband deployment.
President-elect Barack Obama made a commitment to broadband deployment in rural areas part of his stump speech during the election campaign.”
Maybe the township could ask NYSEG if they were considering this technology.
Comment by Mike Baker November 14, 2008 @ 10:38 pmTo Keith and the rest of the committee:
Comment by Paul Ferrari June 22, 2009 @ 4:44 pmIt is becoming increasingly more apparent that high speed internet access is a must in our rural area. Using dial-up services, given the nature of the data that comes in, is virtually impossible. It takes literally hours to download the simplest messages. For those who are trying to conduct business, it is totally impossible.
If we wish to attract businesses and even intelligent families into our little neighborhood, we have to offer them something more than the current snail mail system.
Thanks for what you are doing, but try harder!
Paul and Sharon Ferrari
I agree with Paul Ferrari… we need to get high speed access into Scipio/Venice Center sooner than later.
After moving from one ‘rural’ area to Venice Center, I figured I could still have High Speed, just by a different carrier. I was shocked to realize my options were:
a. Dial-up (slow, but affordable and allowed in the home)
b. Satellite (Fast, but expensive and a dish in not allowed where I live)
c. suffer with no internet.
I ultimately chose option a. But there are things I would like to do online that is impossible using dial-up.
Please, put a little more effort into this. Thanks!
Comment by Becky December 30, 2009 @ 8:12 pmThanks for working on this – HUghes – 69.99 mo, Verizon wireless – 39.99(only good for reading e-mails)- Verizon wireless $59.99 – decent hookup – are too expensive.
Using Netzero High Speed is still slow – kids can’t do research papers for schoolwork – can we as a town pressure Verizon to upgrade the phone wires – In Dial up is pretty good and from what I understand our Phone lines are old and causing the dial up problem?? Maybe between the town and Gary Finch / Mike Nozzolio pressure can be applied to Verizon to upgrade the phone lines?
Thank you,
Comment by Jim Walker January 26, 2010 @ 5:42 pm