[September 23, 2011] Company to bring high speed internet to eight-county area Tweet Sep 23, 2011 (Jackson County Floridan - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Better cell phone reception, more job creation and the improvement of health care are some of the promises the Florida Rural Broadband Alliance is making with its project to bring high speed internet to a eight-county area. The alliance is a company made up of two not-for-profit organizations: Opportunity Florida which covers Jackson, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Liberty and Washington counties and Florida's Heartland Regional Economic Development Initiative, which covers DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands and Okeechobee counties. At a Jackson County Chamber of Commerce power lunch on Thursday, Rick Marcum, the executive director for Opportunity Florida, explained the need for this internet upgrade. "It's meant to enhance business," Marcum said. DSL, the current way of transmitting the internet, only has a speed of 256 kilobits per second. FRBA's internet for businesses would have a speed of 10 megabites per second, at a cost of about $175. That's 40 times faster than DSL, Marcum said. "It's going to be a game changer for our counties," Marcum said. Businesses can now have faster and more reliable internet. This is especially important in a global economy, Marcum said, because of the need to communicate overseas. Paired with internet phone call providers, this new high speed internet would make overseas business easier. "DSL will not suffice in this economy," Marcum said. Although the planned high speed internet is mostly targeted toward businesses, households will also be able to receive 2 megabites for about $40 a month. FRBA received about $24 million in stimulus money for this project, which should begin in the Northwest Florida region in February or March 2012 and completed by August 2012, Marcum said. The company is currently identifying towers in the area that will give its high speed internet the most scope. Four towers will be built by Opportunity Florida in the Northwest Florida area to fix cellphone gaps, Marcum said. The non profit is looking to counties and schools to donate the necessary 100x100 foot properties needed to build the towers. In return, the donators receive a RAD center and, in 10 years, the tower becomes theirs. Jackson County Superintendent Lee Miller said the district was looking into the possible land parcels it has to donate and the pros and cons of the high speed internet project. "You never know how long towers will be out there," Miller said. "In 10 years they could be replaced by satellites or something like that." ___ (c)2011 the Jackson County Floridan (Marianna, Fla.) Visit the Jackson County Floridan (Marianna, Fla.) at www.jcfloridan.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]