USDA launches high-speed broadband e-connectivity resource guide

https://www.morningagclips.com/broadband-e-connectivity-guide-available/

Broadband e-connectivity guide available

USDA launches high-speed broadband e-connectivity resource guide

PUBLISHED ON February 6, 2019

WASHINGTON — Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a new toolkit to help support the deployment of high-speed broadband e-Connectivity in rural communities.

“High-speed broadband e-Connectivity is becoming more and more essential to doing business, delivering health care, and, for schoolchildren, doing homework in rural communities,” Hazlett said. “This user-friendly tool will help rural customers find the many resources USDA has available to support the expansion and use of e-Connectivity in rural America.”

The e-Connectivity Toolkit (PDF, 4.3 MB) features 27 USDA programs that support broadband deployment. The easy-to-use resource is a simple guide that allows customers to identify their type of e-Connectivity project and locate resources the federal government offers for planning, equipment, construction, research and other e-Connectivity projects. Resources such as grants, loans and technical assistance are available from multiple Mission Areas at USDA, including Rural Development, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Forest Service.

The toolkit highlights examples of how e-Connectivity resources are being used to increase access to broadband services in rural communities. It is free and available to the public online, and can be easily printed for offline use.

USDA’s launch of the e-Connectivity Toolkit closely follows Secretary Sonny Perdue’s unveiling of the ReConnect Program, a pilot program authorized by the Consolidated Budget Act of 2018, to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas that lack sufficient access to broadband.

In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.

To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

–USDA

For more articles concerning infrastructure, click here.

++++++++++++++++++++

Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT

Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun

Westminster Fire Dept. and MTA Lodge #20 Chaplain and PIO​

Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoff.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff

Westminster Patch: http://patch.com/users/kevin-e-dayhoff?page=1

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/

Live Journal: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

Kevin Dayhoff Time Flies: https://kevindayhoff.wordpress.com/

USDA launches high-speed broadband e-connectivity resource guide

https://www.morningagclips.com/broadband-e-connectivity-guide-available/

Broadband e-connectivity guide available

USDA launches high-speed broadband e-connectivity resource guide

PUBLISHED ON February 6, 2019

WASHINGTON — Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett today announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched a new toolkit to help support the deployment of high-speed broadband e-Connectivity in rural communities.

“High-speed broadband e-Connectivity is becoming more and more essential to doing business, delivering health care, and, for schoolchildren, doing homework in rural communities,” Hazlett said. “This user-friendly tool will help rural customers find the many resources USDA has available to support the expansion and use of e-Connectivity in rural America.”

The e-Connectivity Toolkit (PDF, 4.3 MB) features 27 USDA programs that support broadband deployment. The easy-to-use resource is a simple guide that allows customers to identify their type of e-Connectivity project and locate resources the federal government offers for planning, equipment, construction, research and other e-Connectivity projects. Resources such as grants, loans and technical assistance are available from multiple Mission Areas at USDA, including Rural Development, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Forest Service.

The toolkit highlights examples of how e-Connectivity resources are being used to increase access to broadband services in rural communities. It is free and available to the public online, and can be easily printed for offline use.

USDA’s launch of the e-Connectivity Toolkit closely follows Secretary Sonny Perdue’s unveiling of the ReConnect Program, a pilot program authorized by the Consolidated Budget Act of 2018, to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas that lack sufficient access to broadband.

In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a key recommendation of the task force.

To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

–USDA

For more articles concerning infrastructure, click here.

++++++++++++++++++++

Carroll County Times: www.tinyurl.com/KED-CCT

Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: http://tinyurl.com/KED-Sun

Westminster Fire Dept. and MTA Lodge #20 Chaplain and PIO​

Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoff.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff

Westminster Patch: http://patch.com/users/kevin-e-dayhoff?page=1

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/

Live Journal: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

Kevin Dayhoff Time Flies: https://kevindayhoff.wordpress.com/

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute

to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband

at the 62nd St John ‪#‎Christmas Bazaar

43 Monroe St Westminster 8am-4pm Dec. 5, 2015

Freedom Broadband Overview and History

Freedom Broadband began as Freedom Wireless Broadband in January of 2007 to provide cost effective Internet service to under-served areas in Carroll County.  The company started with a location in Eldersburg, MD and a communications tower in Hampstead, MD, and grew by leveraging grain elevators, silos and homes to reach locations not served by wired providers available at that time.

From 2007 until February of 2015, the company expanded service to Manchester, Mt. Airy, Gamber, Woodbine, and Hampstead, adding (4) major communications towers, (4) municipal water towers, and numerous grain elevators, silos and roof mounted access points  serving approximately 185 customers, including 48 farms and commercial businesses.

In February of 2015, local resident Theresa Bethune purchased Freedom Wireless Broadband and renamed the company “Freedom Broadband.”  As a customer in an underserved part of Carroll County (ironically just 6 miles from Westminster, Hampstead and Manchester), Theresa realized how many areas of Carroll and the surrounding areas were left with few, if any viable broadband choices.  

As a mother to a 13 year old boy and wife of an Information technology professional, she also knew that life without broadband was not viable for most families.  The purchase enabled the business to fund major network upgrades, as well as to drive expansion into more areas throughout Carroll County and surrounding counties.

Since February, 2015, Freedom Broadband has doubled our available bandwidth and our customers send and receive more than 1 Terabyte (TB) of data per day (equal to  1,000 gigabytes-GB, or 1,000,000 megabytes-MB) to/from the Internet each day.  We have expanded capacity 400% at the Manchester Water Tower and Lippy Brothers towers, and added new locations to serve parts of Mayberry and the Jasontown/Uniontown Road areas.  We  have planned tower climbs to grow our service areas in Taneytown and Mt. Airy/Woodbine. 

Together with our sister company, InfoPathways, Freedom Broadband established a broadband connection to River Valley Ranch, and deployed wireless infrastructure to improve their communications both on and off the Ranch.  

We are proud to support 4H and the Community Media Center, and provided both wireless infrastructure and bandwidth to enable live streaming of 4H events.

Why do we do it?  Because we love Carroll County.  We enjoy the rolling countryside and beautiful farm lands.  We want to connect people to each other and the world at large, without forcing them to sacrifice their wooded retreats and family homesteads.  Every time we connect someone new, we feel an amazing sense of accomplishment.

Our customers are our neighbors and friends – people we see at our local Farmer’s markets, at school or on the athletic fields, at our local restaurants, businesses and events that make our community a great place to live and work.  

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute  to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-awesome-theresa-and-tom-bethune_5.html

Labels: People Bethune Theresa Tom, Technology, Technology broadband, Technology Freedom Broadband

http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/460549.html

+++++++++++++++

Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Dayhoff&target=adv_article

Carroll County Times: http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Kevin+Dayhoff&target=article

Westminster Patch: http://patch.com/users/kevin-e-dayhoff?page=1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Patuxent Publishing Co., The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO

Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/

Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf

+++++++++++++++

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute

to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband

at the 62nd St John ‪#‎Christmas Bazaar

43 Monroe St Westminster 8am-4pm Dec. 5, 2015

Freedom Broadband Overview and History

Freedom Broadband began as Freedom Wireless Broadband in January of 2007 to provide cost effective Internet service to under-served areas in Carroll County.  The company started with a location in Eldersburg, MD and a communications tower in Hampstead, MD, and grew by leveraging grain elevators, silos and homes to reach locations not served by wired providers available at that time.

From 2007 until February of 2015, the company expanded service to Manchester, Mt. Airy, Gamber, Woodbine, and Hampstead, adding (4) major communications towers, (4) municipal water towers, and numerous grain elevators, silos and roof mounted access points  serving approximately 185 customers, including 48 farms and commercial businesses.

In February of 2015, local resident Theresa Bethune purchased Freedom Wireless Broadband and renamed the company “Freedom Broadband.”  As a customer in an underserved part of Carroll County (ironically just 6 miles from Westminster, Hampstead and Manchester), Theresa realized how many areas of Carroll and the surrounding areas were left with few, if any viable broadband choices.  

As a mother to a 13 year old boy and wife of an Information technology professional, she also knew that life without broadband was not viable for most families.  The purchase enabled the business to fund major network upgrades, as well as to drive expansion into more areas throughout Carroll County and surrounding counties.

Since February, 2015, Freedom Broadband has doubled our available bandwidth and our customers send and receive more than 1 Terabyte (TB) of data per day (equal to  1,000 gigabytes-GB, or 1,000,000 megabytes-MB) to/from the Internet each day.  We have expanded capacity 400% at the Manchester Water Tower and Lippy Brothers towers, and added new locations to serve parts of Mayberry and the Jasontown/Uniontown Road areas.  We  have planned tower climbs to grow our service areas in Taneytown and Mt. Airy/Woodbine. 

Together with our sister company, InfoPathways, Freedom Broadband established a broadband connection to River Valley Ranch, and deployed wireless infrastructure to improve their communications both on and off the Ranch.  

We are proud to support 4H and the Community Media Center, and provided both wireless infrastructure and bandwidth to enable live streaming of 4H events.

Why do we do it?  Because we love Carroll County.  We enjoy the rolling countryside and beautiful farm lands.  We want to connect people to each other and the world at large, without forcing them to sacrifice their wooded retreats and family homesteads.  Every time we connect someone new, we feel an amazing sense of accomplishment.

Our customers are our neighbors and friends – people we see at our local Farmer’s markets, at school or on the athletic fields, at our local restaurants, businesses and events that make our community a great place to live and work.  

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute  to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-awesome-theresa-and-tom-bethune_5.html

Labels: People Bethune Theresa Tom, Technology, Technology broadband, Technology Freedom Broadband

http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/460549.html

+++++++++++++++

Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Dayhoff&target=adv_article

Carroll County Times: http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Kevin+Dayhoff&target=article

Westminster Patch: http://patch.com/users/kevin-e-dayhoff?page=1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Patuxent Publishing Co., The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO

Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/

Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf

+++++++++++++++

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband at the 62nd St John #Christmas Bazaar 43 Monroe St Westminster 8am-4pm.

The awesome Theresa and Tom Bethune take a minute to answer a few questions about Freedom Broadband at the 62nd St John #Christmas Bazaar 43 Monroe St Westminster 8am-4pm.

People Bethune Theresa Tom, Technology, Technology broadband, Technology Freedom Broadband, Religion St John Catholic Ch, 

June 26, 2015: Westminster Ting – Crazy fast internet

June 26, 2015: Westminster Ting – Crazy fast internet

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2015/06/june-26-2015-westminster-ting-crazy.html

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/search/label/Technology%20Westminster%20Ting

Technology Westminster Ting

https://ting.com/blog/internet/westminster/

https://twitter.com/tingwestminster

https://twitter.com/val_bortz Ting City Manager Westminster, MD

NATOA awards Westminster, MD and Ting the “Community Broadband Innovative Partnership of the Year”

The wheels are turning in Westminster

What gigabit fiber means for Westminster

We came, we saw, we lit some fiber

Westminster: Let’s roll out

+++++++++++++++

Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Dayhoff&target=adv_article

Carroll County Times: http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=Kevin+Dayhoff&target=article

Westminster Patch: http://patch.com/users/kevin-e-dayhoff?page=1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff

Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:

Patuxent Publishing Co., The Carroll Eagle: www.explorecarroll.com: http://www.explorecarroll.com/search/?s=Dayhoff&action=GO

Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/

Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org
Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net

Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art, artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalists and journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maiorem Dei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson: “That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!” - See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf

+++++++++++++++