On February 28, staff from Ohio State’s Office of the Chief Information Officer installed a wireless Internet system at its fourth underserved Appalachian town. The installation added Wi-Fi broadband connectivity in the rural town of Crown City in Gallia County.

This venture, part of the Connecting Rural Ohio Wireless Neighborhood Project, is a broader effort by various agencies and groups in the central and southeastern Ohio region to link instruction and learning, teachers and students, schools, homes and businesses via broadband Internet connectivity.

“Connecting Rural Ohio initiative builds upon the rich traditions and mission of the land-grant universities as transformational institutions,” says Alan Escovitz, CIO External Affairs director. “Ohio State has engaged these communities by building high-tech network infrastructures that deliver a full range of programs and services broadening the access to distance learning opportunities,” he explains, adding, “The community wireless network infrastructure delivers needed job training and employment skills that businesses are demanding in a global market.”

Crown City is 14 miles northeast of Huntington, West Virginia and 130 miles south of Columbus. It borders the Ohio River and has an estimated population of 411 people.

Robert Dixon, CIO Emerging Technologies director, says, “It is technically challenging to design and install wireless community networks in dispersed rural locations such as Crown City, but it is also very rewarding to be able to help people who have no other way to join the modern world of internet communications, for their personal, educational and business needs.”

Project partners include Ohio State’s Office of the CIO, the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC), the Governor’s Office of Appalachia (GOA), University of Rio Grande, Foundation for Appalachia Ohio, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio Learning Network, and MindLeaders. Previous projects include New Straitsville (Perry County), Chesterhill (Morgan County), and Vinton (Gallia County).

Escovitz concludes by saying they continue to utilize both wired and wireless technologies to create a community network and learning center to address workforce development and the informational technology needs of the residents and commercial interests in the areas.