Need for speed: Session seeks best ways to implement broadband

                  in Tuscarawas, Coshocton

                  By LEE MORRISON, T-R Business Editor

                  When it comes to the availability of broadband communication

                  tech- nology, there’s no such thing as too much.

                  How to best put that technology to use in Tuscarawas and

                  Coshocton counties will be the topic of a town hall meeting

                  Thursday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 in Room 126 of the Science and

                  Advanced Technology Center at Tuscarawas Campus of Kent State

                  University at New Philadelphia.

                  The two counties recently received a state grant for $50,000

                  planning assistance to help implement or improve broadband

                  service.

                  The Tuscarawas County Community Improvement Corp., Coshocton

                  Port Authority and the City of Dover are partners in the

                  program.

                  “We’re looking for extensive participation from the

                  community,” said Heinz Stucki, director of the Tuscarawas

                  County CIC. “This will be the primary opportunity for anyone

                  who wants to learn more about what we’re considering doing,

                  and to provide input in the process.”

                  The project, known as the “Appalachian Regional

                  Telecommunications Planning Program,” is one of many

                  recommendations that resulted from the Access Appalachia study

                  of the availability and reliability of broadband services

                  throughout Ohio’s Appalachian region.

                  Guiding the process is a steering committee consisting of

                  seven residents of Tuscarawas County and seven from Coshocton

                  County. Information Technology Director Ed Tester of the Ohio

                  Mid-Eastern Government Assn. represents OMEGA on the

                  committee. The process for deciding how broadband will be used

                  locally will be wrapped up by October, Stucki added.

                  Helping mentor the program is Tony Yankus, OH-1 project

                  manager for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services.

                  Yankus calls broadband a form of transportation and compared

                  growth in it to how canals, railroads and interstate highways

                  spurred economic development in the past.

                  “The more information that is transmitted, the more bandwidth

                  is needed,” he said. “The way we conduct government, the way

                  we shop, even the way we learn at school now is all

                  transformed, enabled and expanded by the availability of

                  broadband.”

                  Yankus said that there’s no reason for the outsourcing of jobs

                  to a foreign country when “that business could be generated

                  here if they just had the connectivity.

                  “There are new services being created that we can’t even

                  imagine,” he said. “We want to see Tuscarawas and Coshocton

                  counties have every opportunity to participate in that

                  information economy.”

                  Blair Hillyer, president of First National Bank of Dennison

                  and president of the CIC, said the banking industry is

                  increasing its use of broadband.

                  “Certainly, the Internet has become more and more of a tool in

                  communication internally and externally for loan applications

                  and all kinds of applications,” Hillyer said. “It will become

                  an even more important tool as we go forward, I don’t think

                  there’s any question about that. Every bank of every size is

                  using the Internet.”

                  Hillyer said the CIC’s goal for the Tuscarawas Regional

                  Technology Park at New Philadelphia is to make the area “as

                  first-class as we can do it. All of us think that the future

                  for growth in this region is tied directly to having the

                  ability and access to broadband capabilities. This session

                  (Thursday) is an opportunity for input and ideas from other

                  businesses and companies about what direction we should be

                  going.”

                  Mike Hovan, president of Edgetech I.G. Inc. at Cambridge, is

                  immediate past president of the CIC and was instrumental in

                  pushing the tech park proposal.

                  “It’s absolutely essential for our company,” Hovan said.

                  “We’re doing all kinds of things with broadband, particularly

                  with large customers and operations overseas.”

                  He said information, such as product drawings and

                  specifications, is constantly begin shared with company

                  facilities in the United Kingdom, Germany and Korea.

                  Video conferencing via the Internet “makes for a lot easier

                  communications with our customers and suppliers,” Hovan said.

                  “They’re also looking up inventory and placing orders directly

                  on our system, and we need the speed of broadband access to do

                  that. Where dial-up used to be sufficient, it’s not anymore.

                  Now they’re expecting significant broadband access. It’s tough

                  to be seen as a credible player in today’s marketplace unless

                  you at least have that. And, it’s increasing all the time.

                  Considerable broadband access is necessary for

                  videoconferencing – to do that you’ve got to have pretty good

                  horsepower. It’s been great for us. It saves a lot of money in

                  terms of plane flights.”

                  Mike Lauber, president of Tusco Display at Gnadenhutten, said

                  that although the company has limited broadband capabilities

                  in the village “it is as essential as electricity, phone

                  service, water and sewer for us.”

                  The company designs and manufactures custom store fixtures and

                  displays.

                  “This is the way we communicate with our clients,” Lauber said

                  of broadband communication. “We do so with photographs,

                  blueprints, drawings – all things that require broadband to

                  transmit the quality image and the speed that we need.

                  “We live in an instantaneous society. Our clients are in the

                  largest cities in the world and if we can’t communicate with

                  them rapidly and consistently, then we’re at a substantial

                  competitive disadvantage.”

                  Lauber said that not long ago, “it was a big disadvantage to

                  be in a small town. Today, it’s a tremendous advantage. Our

                  clients see us as providing Midwestern values that they can’t

                  get from New York, Chicago and Los Angeles – the dependability

                  and work ethic. If our customers can communicate with us as

                  well as anywhere else in the world, we’re at a competitive

                  advantage and we want to build on those advantages.”

                  “The world’s not going to slow down and we’ve got to be able

                  to move massive amounts of data in digital form. Our clients

                  are not going to spend time waiting for our Web site to

                  download,” Lauber said. “They’re plenty quick on their end,

                  we’ve got to be able to match that.”

                  Lauber will attend Thursday’s session and said “I’m extremely

                  concerned that we get the broadest band possible. Without that

                  our tech park won’t be any different than any other park,

                  industrial or otherwise. We’ve got to have the biggest pipe

                  available and without it they won’t even consider us. This is

                  a crucial question for us to address as we develop this tech

                  park. This is the crown jewel of our future.”

                  He also said that while Americans want to believe that they’re

                  on the cutting edge of technology, the U.S. “is behind Korea

                  and Japan in deployment of broadband, not just for business,

                  but in homes, too.”

                  “As negative as that sounds, the reality is that we can

                  catch-up,” Lauber said. “We certainly have that ability. The

                  bar keeps getting raised and we don’t want to be left behind.”

                   Copyright ©2004 The Times Reporter