Forum on Community Data Centers in AppalachiaOctober 2015 |
Forum on Community Data Centers in Appalachia
At the Forum on Community Data Centers in Appalachia, Appalachian communities with existing municipal- or cooperative-owned broadband networks met to learn about the community data center model established by the City of Westerville, Ohio, in 2012 with the launch of WēConnect, the nation's first municipal community data center. WēConnect works in partnership with local business incubators and accelerators to help meet business demand for broadband and data services. The Forum on Community Data Centers in Appalachia helped inform next steps for Appalachian participants interested in replicating this economic development model in their community. The forum was co-sponsored by ARC, Launch Tennessee, and The Company Lab (CO.LAB). Speakers at the event included representatives of the City of Westerville, the Enterprise Center, CO.LAB, and EPB Fiber Optics, Chattanooga's broadband utility. They discussed Chattanooga's successful use of its Gigabit fiber network to promote entrepreneurship and small business development. Forum agenda (PDF: 33 KB) For more information on the forum, contact Chris Brazell, ARC infrastructure program manager, at cbrazell@arc.gov or 202.884.7753. |