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Blog // Connect Ohio

ECO Showcases Importance of Broadband/Web Presence for one Gallia County Company

By Lyndsey Kleven

  Going from living in a large metropolitan city and moving to Gallipolis, Ohio, located in the state’s Appalachian region, W. Oran Smeltzer was in for a change. Having been raised in Gallia County, Smeltzer knew before moving back that parts of the area relied much less on technology and Internet than he had become accustomed to living in an urban area. A significant barrier to opportunity that the region faces is lack of Internet connectivity and adoption. In Connect Ohio’s recent report, Technology Barriers and Adoption in Rural Appalachian Ohio, it is revealed that an astonishing 531,000 adults in the area do not have home broadband...

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Belmont County Small Business Finds Great Success with GMN Wireless Broadband

By COH Staff

Gaining access to high-speed Internet can be a game changer for small business. This situation is true for Jerry Smith, owner of Anvils and Ink Studios in Belmont County, where he hand crafts fine art and jewelry, metal sculptures, leather goods, and other custom pieces.“Shortly before Smith became a customer of GMN, Connect Ohio worked in training GMN wireless on how to use radio propagation software and how to create its own coverage maps,” said Bart Winegar, technical outreach manager for Connect Ohio. “This helped it to increase efficiency and to serve some customers who otherwise may have been deemed unreachable.”Smith previously had a...

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Low Number of Ohio Small Businesses Online, Google Offering Help

By COH Staff

Today, a main source for finding information about a business is to search for their website or online presence. It is shocking to think that many businesses are still not online. According to Google, 97 percent of Americans go to the Internet to look for local products and services.Connect Ohio’s 2011 Broadband and Business Assessment reveals two-thirds of Ohio businesses do not use broadband and do not have an online presence. Google is offering to help Ohio businesses get online with the “Ohio Get Your Business Online” program. The program is designed to help businesses create and maintain a website. It begins today in...

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