The NTIA has released a new map showing indicators of broadband need. It takes several data sources, combines them, and then shows how different parts of the country compare.
It’s a fascinating map, showing where people in the US are getting fast internet speeds (big cities, Silicon Valley, and a few places here and there), and how the rest of us are doing.
For Windham County the numbers are like this:
We moved our web design business to Brattleboro in 2001. People around Brattleboro were mostly using modems, and Sovernet was just beginning to sign people up for (relatively slow) DSL connections. We limped by, overpaid, and designed local web sites for low bandwidth knowing most people were stuck at low speeds around here.
As time went on, things didn’t really speed up much here, but friends (and competitors) in bigger cities were leaping ahead. While we were lucky to get 3-7 Mbps here, they were enjoying 200 Mbps or more.
An unusually-short agenda awaits the Brattleboro Selectboard at their next regular meeting. Short agendas sometimes imply absent board members.
They will get an update on the Work Today program at Youth Services and hear results of staff research into a potential new utility, municipal broadband. There are just two other items – buying a generator and announcing committee vacancies. You can extend this meeting by bringing up other items not on this tiny agenda during Public Participation.
