How Rural Areas can Compete in the 21st Century

Ontario County, NY (one of our clients) is starting to see the returns from investment it has made in broadband technology:

Marcus Whitman School District’s elementary schools, Gorham Elementary and Middlesex Valley Elementary, now have high-speed broadband, meaning students and staff have access to a faster, more reliable network for Internet use and district communications.

The County put together a plan and got full financing for an open access ring.  60 of the 180 miles are now constructed and in operation"

Marcus Whitman Superintendent Mike Chirco stated in the release: “Before our elementary schools linked to the fiber ring, large e-mails would take hours to send, streaming video was slow and poor in quality, and access to district databases was uneven at best. Today, large e-mails with pictures arrive in seconds not hours, a lab full of students can watch a streaming video live, and teachers have online access to vital student information. Students and staff in our elementary schools have finally caught up with our high school and can now enjoy a multimedia world.”

The full story is here.

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