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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 6, 2000 |
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Balmoris at (202) 418-0253 Email: mbalmori@fcc.gov |
A NATIONWIDE DATABASE OF BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ACTIVITIES
Web-Based Survey to Promote Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Services
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in partnership with state regulators, announced an interactive web site that will serve as a national clearinghouse for local communities to share news and information about their broadband deployment projects. The web-based survey will gather information for a searchable database, which will be available on the web site, of broadband deployment projects and efforts that communities across the nation are undertaking. The web site will facilitate the exchange of information and the development of local "best practices" so that communities can build upon the lessons learned by others. The survey can be accessed at the following web page, www.nrri.ohio-state.edu/broadbandsurvey.php.
The web site is one of the projects of the Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services to ensure that advanced services are deployed as rapidly as possible to all Americans. The FCC and state regulators are expecting many local communities and municipalities, private industry, educational institutions, and others, to share their success stories on the web site, which went "live" today. An interactive survey on the web site will allow all of these groups to provide information about their projects. That information will be fed into a national database, which will be available soon at, www.nrri.ohio-state.edu/broadbandquery.php in an easily searchable format.
FCC Chairman Kennard today extended an invitation to all interested parties to join in this new venture. "We are asking every community that is finding creative ways to provide high speed Internet access to share their experience through this web site. The resource we are launching today will give communities across the country a chance to share their strategies for success, and inspire others to follow in their footsteps."
Nan Thompson, Regulatory Commission of Alaska Chair added, "The Joint Conference is impressed by the inspiration, creativity and determination of communities in making high speed Internet access a reality. Sharing a vision of advanced telecommunications services for all Americans, we are garnering these success stories on our interactive web site. In doing so, we hope to 'pass the torch' to other communities, service providers and government officials concerned about getting adequate services in rural, inner-city and other underserved areas.
The community efforts that the Joint Conference has seen first hand at field hearings across the country will be included in the database. These efforts include the Montana Terrace Smart Home Community in Washington, DC. Once a public housing project in need of revitalization, Montana Terrace is now a mixed-income community with state-of-the-art broadband connections to the Internet. Other broadband deployment efforts are also underway in Orange City and Hawarden, Iowa, the Forks in Washington State, the communities of Sitka, Kake, Kotzebue and Noatak in Alaska, and the Berkshires and on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The survey and database will be hosted and maintained by the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) (www.nrri.ohio-state.edu), the official research arm of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) (www.naruc.org). Further Information about the Joint Conference can be found on the FCC's web site, www.fcc.gov/jointcoference.
Common Carrier Bureau contact: Emily Hoffnar (202) 418-0940
on the Commission's web site www.fcc.gov.