CTC Technology & Energy President Joanne Hovis presented the findings of our research projects, Broadband in Garrett County: A Strategy for Expansion and Adoption, at a public meeting in Oakland, Md. today. The study found that Garrett County is well-connected compared to other rural communities throughout the United States, but nevertheless lags urban and suburban areas throughout the rest of the state in terms of service availability and connection speed.

CTC’s report delineated several recommendations for County leaders, including building out middle-mile fiber infrastructure and educating County residents about the benefits of expanded broadband access.

CTC also proposed that the County consider making a $1.2 million investment in a last-mile wireless network using TV White Spaces (TVWS) technology; that recommendation included a system-level engineering design and a detailed financial analysis. The design includes six discrete service areas including approximately 2,873 homes and businesses. A TVWS base station would connect to County or One Maryland Broadband Network (OMBN) fiber Internet backbone in each service area. The design would support symmetrical speeds of up to 3 or 4 Mbps for each subscriber.

Following a kick-off meeting in April, CTC is engaged in an ongoing project to identify communications gaps and evaluate potential solutions for the Baltimore Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), a regional emergency preparedness planning effort that brings together emergency management personnel, information officers, and public safety officials from the region’s jurisdictions (the cities of Annapolis and Baltimore, and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties), as well as representatives from the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). The UASI program is funded by the Department of Homeland Security, which provides grants to high-density regions that are at risk for terrorism.

CTC Technology & Energy congratulates Garrett County, Md. on receiving a $250,000 broadband infrastructure grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The grant, which will be matched by the County, will fund fiber optic infrastructure and the electronics necessary to provide broadband service to a range of schools and other important County sites.

The ARC-funded project dovetails with the One Maryland Broadband Network, funded under the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), which is constructing fiber across the state to connect more than 1,000 community anchor institutions.

CTC is proud of its ongoing work with the County on broadband planning issues, and commends ARC on recognizing the importance of broadband infrastructure as a tool for economic development in rural communities.

CTC congratulates Charles Benton, Chairman and CEO of the Benton Foundation, on his nomination by President Obama to the National Museum and Library Services Board. The Benton Foundation has, for more than 30 years, promoted communications and technology in the public interest. Mr. Benton’s work, in particular, has focused on issues such as the digital divide, using media to expand civic participation, and telecommunications policy at the federal, state, and local levels.

The official White House press release on Mr. Benton’s appointment can be found here.

CTC Technology & Energy has kicked off its project to develop an emergency communications plan for the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association (TVPPA). Following an information-gathering session with TVPPA members and stakeholders, CTC is conducting a survey of association members to gauge their current state of emergency preparedness, anticipated communications needs, and obstacles to regional cooperation. CTC will also assess the current emergency communications processes among the utilities, and develop solutions based on the members’ current and potential resources.

Arlington County, Virginia’s ambitious ConnectArlington fiber network was featured in Government Technology magazine as an example of “a unique public partnership” that “will support education, emergency management and other government use.”

The article, which highlighted the drivers behind the project and the myriad benefits it will deliver, noted that Arlington CIO Jack Belcher oversaw the completion of the first phase in late February, and that he expects to connect 50 county sites by fall 2013.

CTC is proud of its support of the ConnectArlington project, from strategic planning to network design and project management. We look forward to continuing to work with Arlington County as the network grows.

CTC congratulates Jacquie Jones on receiving the 2012 Dewey Winburne Community Service Award. Ms. Jones was selected based on her work as Executive Director of the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC), a 30-year-old media arts organization that funds, produces, and distributes public interest media for all platforms. NBPC focuses on grassroots engagement models for public media in communities of color to help stations develop a broader viewership audience. CTC is proud to have supported NBPC in preparing grant applications for digital inclusion programs.

The Dewey Winburne Community Service Award was created to honor one of the co-founders of the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival. Mr. Winburne was a teacher who trained at-risk youth to make use of digital technology and believed the new media revolution could help promote equality in society. Awardees are those who work to promote Mr. Winburne’s vision of technology as an equalizer.

CTC President Joanne Hovis was featured in today’s Cumberland Times-News. The article, “Broadband advocate calls for a leap of faith from region,” covers Ms. Hovis’ testimony before the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee. She spoke on the importance of ultra-high-speed, fiber-optic broadband Internet connections to regional educational and economic development opportunities.

The article goes on to cover the broadband study and needs assessment CTC is currently conducting in Allegany County. CTC has a proud history of working with public sector clients, particularly those in rural areas, to assess their current networking infrastructure and provide strategic recommendations for how to improve broadband networking services. CTC is pleased to be assisting Allegany County in this endeavor.

CTC’s client the City of Port Angeles, Wash. was featured today in The Peninsula Daily News. The article, “Port Angeles City Council OKs wireless project,” reported on the unanimous approval by the city council to proceed on a municipal wireless project. CTC has served as technical consultant on the project, conducting the initial network feasibility study, providing engineering design support, and assisting in the preparation of a grant application for federal funds.

Once completed, the Port Angeles municipal wireless network will improve local law enforcement communication. The network will also allow City residents to subscribe to wireless Internet access through a partnership with a private provider.

The Tennessee Valley Public Power Association, a non-profit, regional service organization that represents the interests of consumer-owned electric utilities operating within the Tennessee Valley Authority service area, has selected CTC Technology & Energy to assist it in developing an emergency communications plan. CTC will work with TVPPA stakeholders to identify goals, assess existing infrastructure and resources, and provide a series of recommendations for potential network engineering solutions.

CTC has a history of working on cutting-edge public safety communications infrastructure and is pleased to support TVPPA in this project.