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Oneida County Fiber Project
With a total population of more than 230,000, Oneida County is both urban and rural. Its three cities—Utica, Rome and Sherrill—and dozens of towns and villages constitute a unique community, with business and industry ranging from agriculture and low-tech family-owned enterprises to the high-tech engineers and scientists that support cutting-edge research and development ongoing at the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y and the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory in Utica, N.Y.
| Oneida County YouTube Google Video |
Oneida County is unusual in some ways, quintessentially American in others. It is home to the Oneida Indian Nation’s world-class Casino and Resort and to colleges pioneering nationally recognized programs in cyber-security and nanoscale technologies.
We have two racetracks, three hospitals, two prisons, dozens of public school districts and parochial schools, shopping malls, an award winning brewery, the historic Erie Canal and a multitude of fine Italian restaurants.
A destination for generations of immigrants, Oneida County has the fourth-highest concentration of refugees in the U.S. Refugees account for 12% of Utica’s population. In the past 25 years, Utica has hosted over 12,000 refugees from 31 nationalities. The main refugee populations come from Bosnia, the former Soviet Union/Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The latest group is from Burma/Myanmar many of whom have been living in refugee camps in Thailand for up to 20 years.
These and other important facts help make Oneida County a “community,” but many municipalities vying for Google’s attention will be able to make similar claims. What makes us distinctive and sets Oneida County above the rest as a Google test site is our:
- Experience in pulling together high-tech collaborations that can be used as a springboard to help launch the Google fiber network;
- ION Upstate New York Rural Broadband Initiative – A collaborative effort to build new segments of “Middle Mile” infrastructure across New York State. ION will enhance its reach throughout rural New York with an Open Network design to enable a host of last-mile service providers – including Google – to bring products and services to underserved areas of rural Oneida County.
- Computer Chip Hybrid Integration Partnership (CHIP) – A high-tech venture between the State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) and the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE). The center will partner with leading chip firms including IBM and SEMATECH to develop a state-of-the-art high tech business incubator and technology accelerator at SUNYIT. This joint partnership will provide the necessary infrastructure to enable innovation, education and commercialization of computer chip solutions in upstate New York.
- Utility and telecommunications companies that are ready and willing to consider a partnership to re-use existing poles and infrastructure for Google fiber;
- ION/DANC, Northland Communications and National Grid have already confirmed their interest in letters of support included with this submission
- “Killer Apps” in Smart-Grid technology already underway at National Grid that will be strengthened by Google fiber;
- Language barriers presented by the 40+ languages spoken by our very large refugee population and students attending the New York State School for the Deaf that will lead to language interpretation “killer apps” to facilitate communication in healthcare, education and the courts system
- Medical community whose ideas for a “killer app” to establish a standardized medical record will be realized through ultra-high speed broadband connectivity
- Opportunities to improve delivery of instructional services to re-educate prisoners and to offer social networking geared toward our large but active elderly citizens
Our top elected officials, business and industry leaders, academics and community leaders “get it” and are ready, willing and able to help smooth the way for Google to quickly and easily build-out an ultra-high speed broadband network in Oneida County. Letters of support from throughout the community are included with this submission as evidence of our level of commitment.
Oneida County is a great place to live, learn, work and play. We are proud of a history rich in technology, innovation and successful partnerships. We’re working hard to ensure a bright future for our youth. Please visit “Oneida County Fiber Project” on Facebook and on YouTube.