Is TechQuest Broadband for You? Are you paying too much for broadband? Does your company have what it needs to meet it's infrastructure needs? Are you confused by the many different services on the market? Let us help you evaluate your broadband needs. Find out more by connecting to www.techquestpa.com and completing a simple survey under the TechQuest-Broadband link. TechQuest-Broadband helped companies secure $2.1 million in advanced Broadband through aggregation and ExaFlood projects. With another large state grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development, TechQuest-Broadband is starting another round of broadband aggregation projects. Our 2008 goal is to help companies get $15 million for advanced broadband contracts. TechQuest Broadband is now seeking broadband buyers from across Pennsylvania.

READ ALL ABOUT IT: Here's what we're doing in Somerset County

Somerset may go high-speed By BRUCE SIWY Daily American Staff Writer Friday, May 9, 2008 11:46 PM EDT Somerset County may be hitting the fast lane en route to high-speed Internet access. Representatives from the Central Pennsylvania Technology Council talked about ways to accomplish this at a meeting Friday in the RTC Room of the Somerset County Office Building. Kelly Lewis, CEO and president of the council, said that it is only a matter of time until the county has widespread access to broadband Internet. 'Our goal is to accelerate that,' Lewis told the audience of approximately 30 area residents, including business owners and county commissioners. The meeting came about a month after the state Department of Community and Economic Development awarded a $114,000 grant to the technology council on behalf of Somerset County. It featured speakers from Dellicker Strategies, a professional services firm based in Kutztown, and Sage Life Technologies, a training consulting firm based in State College. Chamber of Commerce Director Ron Aldom said the meeting was step one toward bringing the entire county up to speed. 'It's a continuation of probably the second biggest issue facing Somerset County - a lack of broadband. The first being getting Route 219 finished,' Aldom said. Lewis said accessible and affordable broadband could be made possible through demand aggregation - a process that calls on organizations of all sizes to combine purchasing power. This pooling of resources, he said, draws the attention of telecommunications companies by creating the potential for large contracts. Buying Internet in bulk, he continued, can result in lower prices through competitive bidding by both local and national companies. While the technology council can help to facilitate negotiations, Lewis said they do not negotiate the actual contracts. 'Our goal is to come in, connect buyers and sellers and then we're gone.' The council is funded through more than 300 member companies in 31 counties. According to its Web site, the council's aim is to develop the technology business across the state. It has already helped companies secure $2.1 million in contracts for advanced broadband over the past year, the Web site states. To get started, Lewis said residents simply need to take a survey at www.techquestpa.org The results, he added, would help his group determine possible pricing strategies when they return for a second meeting in about a month. He said the county could be ready to host a bidders conference as early as mid-July. 'We've already got about 20 companies (to fill out the survey) in Somerset County. To get 50 would be huge,' Lewis said. Kevin Dellicker, of Dellicker Strategies, said demand aggregation is a successful tactic that has already worked in 60 locations across the state. 'You can transform from price-takers into market-makers. You can encourage telecommunications companies to make investments where they otherwise wouldn't,' he said. David Paterno, of Sage Life Technologies, emphasized the community aspect of aggregation efforts. He said that businesses, by modernizing their Internet, can see economic benefits that may help keep educated youth employed in their hometown. 'There's more than just cost saving; there's a community value to this,' he said. (Bruce Siwy may be contacted at bruces@dailyamerican.com. Comment on the online story at dailyamerican.com.)

Printer Friendly Version

Email this page