Schumer: Top FCC Officials Met With Ontario Co to Discuss Expansion of Broadband Ring in RFL Region and Using Project as National Broadband Model

Press Release

Today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that, at his request, top officials from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have met with representatives from Ontario County to discuss the county's innovative broadband model and the reasons it has been so successful. Schumer is pushing the Ontario County effort as national model as the FCC works to expand broadband access to 100 million homes by 2020. Schumer pledged to set up the meeting a month ago during an appearance in Ontario County during which he highlighted the county's innovative approach to high-speed expansion and pledged to pressure federal officials to help every community in New York obtain access. The FCC and Ontario County had a positive meeting, where the FCC asked many detailed questions about the broadband plan and engaged in a conversation about what has made the broadband ring so successful.

"The Rochester-Finger Lakes Region is at the cutting edge of a broadband revolution, and today was a chance for Ontario County to show the FCC what they are doing right," Schumer said. "I am hopeful that the FCC, now that they've seen the great aspects of the broadband ring, will consider incorporating many of the more positive features in their nationwide broadband plan."

Geoff Astles, Ontario County Administrator and Chairman of Axcess Ontario, the non-profit arm of the county overseeing the development of the Ontario fiber ring, said Tuesday's meeting with more than a dozen FCC senior managers was highly productive. The FCC asked detailed questions about the financing, structure and deployment of the fiber ring, clearly indicating their interest in the project.

"Senator Schumer has been an incredible advocate for our fiber ring, and we greatly appreciate all he's doing to support our project, encourage its expansion throughout the Finger Lakes Region, and recognize it as national model," Astles said. "We believe our project truly can be a model that communities nationwide can learn from and emulate."

The Federal Communications Commission has just released their recommendations -- drafted at the request of Congress -- to bring high speed broadband into 100 million homes by 2020. Schumer said that as the federal government worked to implement and alter this plan, he would push to see that the speed and access offered by the Ontario ring is expanded to surrounding counties and the state as a whole. Currently, the United States is ranked 15th worldwide in broadband access and 21st(behind Estonia) when the costs of broadband are taken into account. This has created a situation where the US could be left behind as the world's economy becomes increasingly digital.

According to data from New York State, approximately 95% of networkers have access to broadband -- leaving approximately 1 million users out in the cold. Additionally, the speeds available to customers lag far behind what is available in other places in the world. The average download speed in New York state is 8.4 megabits per second, less than half of South Korea's average rate of 20.4 mb/s. This rate is far too low to access all the internet's resources, including the sharing of medical records, streaming video, and other crucial services. Schumer said that the Ontario ring was impressive because it not only greatly expanded access, but improved speeds as well. Fiber optics allow transferring data at rates of 10 gigabits per second, a speed that is available now, up to the speed of light, paving the way for the next 25 years or more. A full length DVD movie that would take approximately a day and a half to download on a dialup connection and 30 minutes to download on an average cable modem would take less than 8 seconds to download on a fiber optic network.

Ontario County's Regional Fiber Network has been a glowing success since its inception only a few years ago. The simple idea behind the program's innovative structure was to bring together government and business to build the necessary technology to foster job creation and economic growth. The program quickly attracted regional attention and in short order was fully funded at $7.5 million with a combination of public and private investment. The County's initial investment of $2.5 million has paid dividends for taxpayers as businesses like Clear Momentum have come to the county to create jobs. The project is now in its final stages and is on pace to be completed by the end of 2010. When finished, the program will have laid down 180 plus miles of fiber optic cables and connected local businesses, hospitals and research hubs with the most up to date technology for broadband access.

Schumer set up today's meeting as part of his effort to highlight Ontario's broadband success, expand the model to the rest of the state, and have many of the positive attributes incorporated into the FCC's nationwide model.

Source