| Connected Nation/Connect KY Hello everyone...long time listener...first time caller...er...anyway.
I've dealt with ConnectKy for a few years now and this is what I can tell you about my experience with them. They went to every county in Kentucky and invited local leaders, technology people, and communication companies in the area to join what they called the local broadband committee. The first few meetings were to try and get an understanding of how technology and broadband could help the county and they gave each of us a packet with a map of the current broadband coverage for the county. After a few more meetings the group dwindled down to our last meeting which consisted of 3 people.
In the meantime, myself and two others were trying to get money to put a tower in the center of our county seat so we could put up a WISP and and least get a portion of our county covered. ConnectKy DID help us get the money...and we thought we were on our way to helping the county. After we got the money approved through a grant ConnectKy kept encouraging us to talk to a company, VVDS, and let them have our money as they had put up towers in other parts of the state. After getting pressure from ConnectKy and other agencies from within the state the county agreed to give them the money. That was almost two years ago...we have no tower...no broadband...no money...and the company that ConnectKy kept insisting that we give the money to has basically went out of business. I contacted ConnectKy a few months ago and asked them if they could help us get the money back or at least find some more...they pretty much told me sorry... the county shouldn't have given them the money.
I have little respect for ConnectKy and the maps that they have really do not reflect the actual coverage for the county. They showed promise at first and I really thought they would help our little county...but in the end they just cost us $700,000 dollars and gave us nothing but a crappy map in return. Thanks ConnectKY! |
