Broadband key to Coshocton-area business development

"I think real economic growth will come from attracting companies that exploit the emerging technologies of the future, just as cloud computing," said Dorothy Skowrunski, director of the Coshocton Port Authority.

"In order for that to happen, we must have in place those infrastructure building blocks that these businesses and technologies will require," she said. "(Broadband communication) is the glue that brings people, businesses and the information at the same time, allowing them to compete with the rest of the world."

In Coshocton County, 529 of 14,701 households, or 3.6 percent, have no broadband providers, according to NTIA's National Broadband Map.

Besides serving food, the establishment grows its own grapes and bottles its own wine. Government reports and label approvals are sent to the state via the Internet.

"At times, those can be very large files, and it would be unrealistic to try and send them using dial-up," Guilliams said.

While having broadband is important for businesses to be able to send files and access remote secure servers, it's as well important to residents, as everything from résumés to job searching is done online.

Lot of social networking sites

"A lot of social networking sites, like Linked In, are so important to network with people who are trying to develop skills, to find out what kind of education is out there to develop those skills, and what kind of tools and resources are out there available to them," Skowrunski said.

The technology as well is high-priority in today's health care field and helps Coshocton Hospital, with 541 employees, remain one of the county's top employers.

The transmission of secure information

The transmission of secure information and images through reliable broadband connectivity is a critical component in today's delivery of quality health care services, said Mary Ellen Given, marketing coordinator for Coshocton Hospital.

New innovation has opened the door for health information exchanges between physicians and hospitals, allowing hospitals in small communities like ours to connect with specialists as needed for consultation and diagnosis, Given said.

Both deal heavily in sending images back and forth with clients and say broadband is necessary to handle the e-mailing of large files in a timely fashion.

Mercer said government as well is a business and needs broadband speed and capabilities. City Hall has recently converted from DSL to a dedicated fiber optic line.

Hasseman said his business uses high-speed internet hourly, from phones to the e-mailing and posting of video files. Hasseman's company does community videos that are posted online at www.coshoctontv.com. He said it's an increasing part of his business he couldn't do if he didn't have broadband or people didn't have broadband to view it.

"When our internet isn't working, it's a big problem," he said. "For the customers we work with it's a huge deal. If we want to compete in any case in the current economic climate we have to have access to high speed internet."

As council president and owner of a firm that does marketing for other businesses, Hasseman wants new businesses to move into the community. He knows broadband is a key element looked at for many reasons.

Business standpoint

"It not only helps from a business standpoint, now from a quality of life standpoint," Hasseman said. "It's in effect hard to do anything without broadband high speed internet. It's hard for kids to do homework these days without high speed. If you're looking to move a business in, the people who are going to work for you if you happen to bring any of them in, are going to want access personally and professionally."