News from Broadband Illinois, March 20th, 2012

This morning, I voted in primary elections from a polling station that included the same precinct in New Salem from which the young Abraham Lincoln cast his first ballot in our democracy. On my drive to downtown Springfield, I passed a replica of the flatboat on which he travelled the Sangamon River. I couldn’t help thinking about Lincoln’s first political passion: internal improvements.
 
"Lincoln knew firsthand the deprivations, the marginal livelihood of the subsistence farmer unable to bring produce to market without dependable roads," writes historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. "Primitive roads, clogged waterways, lack of rail connections, inadequate schools -- such were not merely issues to Lincoln, but hurdles he had worked all his life to overcome in order to earn an ampler share of freedom."
 
Today's "internal improvements" aren't primarily about canals or railroads, but about information infrastructure.  In a word, they are about broadband – its deployment and its use. Here at Broadband Illinois, we think of our mission as Better Broadband and Better Lives: we work with providers to ensure high-capacity networks, and we work with economic development officials and others to ensure widespread excellence in utilizing tools of digital literacy with.
 
In our newsletter this week, we begin highlighting the work of providers throughout our State, beginning with NewWave Communications (see below). As the State Broadband Initiative entity for Illinois, we work in close partnership with all providers. And we collect data and publish maps of broadband availability and speeds (see below). Please share our newsletter and let us know how we can help you!

NewWave Communications provides high-speed Internet, digital telephone services and television to residents and businesses throughout Central and Southern Illinois. The company recently purchased new coverage areas and is upgrading local networks that will provide advanced services and features for their customers.

“The opportunity to provide our services to these new areas is very exciting for us. We think people who choose to live in smaller towns should have the same access to technology as people who live in bigger cities,” said CEO Jim Gleason.

See the recently updated provider pages on the Broadband Illinois website, including NewWave’s, to view maps of coverage areas, contact information, and download PDF files.

We are preparing our fifth annual submission of broadband coverage and community anchor institution data to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). We use this data to update the National Broadband Map and to publish consumer-friendly maps of broadband in Illinois. Learn more about broadband data in Illinois by viewing examples of carrier maps, county speed tier maps, and see where people are requesting broadband service.