[Hidden-tech] Helping others without broadband

[Marcia Yudkin]

Amy,

I live in Goshen, and a few months ago, we had a meeting
with Steve Kulik, our state representative, and one of the
questions that came up was, is there any hope of getting
broadband out here?

His answer was, "Unfortunately, no, not in the next few
years, at least."

It's hard to see private business *ever* bringing broadband
to the smaller hilltowns (such as Goshen, population 920)
without some sort of government incentive, subsidy or push
- or without a whole lot of hidden businesses getting
together and showing the telecom companies that they might
get their investment back, that population numbers don't
tell the whole story.

Anyone else ever talked to their state representative or
senator about this issue?  

I could be imagining things, but I seem to remember hearing
a few years back that Vermont (which has next to no cities
at all) had some sort of state-wide initiative to make
Internet access available throughout the state.  Out in the
sticks, that's what's needed for broadband.

Marcia Yudkin
Creative Marketing Solutions
http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm


--- A - Z International <az at a-zinternational.com> wrote:

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> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I spent yesterday lunch with Aron Goldman, who heads the 
> Shutesbury-Leverett broadband initiative, a Globe
> reporter and several 
> Shutesbury-area folk who are all suffering from lack of
> broadband.
> 
> Although I've known about the issue and tried to help out
> here and there, I 
> was really horrified to learn how some of our members are
> struggling. Aron, 
> for example, has to drive to Amherst and park outside a
> cafe to download 
> files I can receive or send in seconds. Of course, not
> having broadband or 
> DSL, for that matter, means no VOIP. And Aron tells me
> that some people are 
> actually spending as much as $500 a month for private T1
> lines, which is an 
> exorbitant expense for a small business. While some folks
> may be "robust" 
> enough to afford that expense, and it is something they
> can write off, it's 
> still pretty extraordinary to realize that we have
> members who are fronting 
> about $6,000 a year for something that costs me roughly
> $400 - $700 annually.
> 
> With all this in mind, I'm hoping that others can help
> Aron promote his 
> efforts to resolve the broadband issue in Franklin County
> and elsewhere. He 
> posts meetings to the list regularly and is quite
> accessible.
> 
> In the meantime, I do have a wireless network in my condo
> and plenty of 
> work space outside of my own office space. I can
> accommodate 10-plus people 
> at any given time who are doing quiet work. Just reach me
> through the 
> Contact button on the Web site if you want to stop by and
> do some work. I'm 
> happy to have you if I'm home, which is often.
> 
> best,
> 
> Amy Zuckerman
> Hidden-Tech founder, co-chair
> 
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