The Connect SI Initiative
Collaborating for Positive Change
- An Executive Summary
The Southern Illinois Coal Belt Champion Community is proud to be a regional leader in expanding the availability and use of broadband telecommunications systems as a means for creating and implementing an economic and community strategy that extends the reach of this area into the global marketplace. We are discovering that while southern Illinois has substantial broadband resources, we lack the levels of accessibility to and the skill sets needed for the most advanced uses of broadband systems. We hope to be a force for change in this regard and to help southern Illinois move to the cutting edge of 21st century internet-based technology for the benefit of the entire region.
In moving in the right directions to make this happen, SICBCC has partnered with numerous other organizations and agencies who share our vision of a fully-connected region. Among those with whom we share this common goal are:
ViTAL Economy
Another important contributor to this process, one who has been very instrumental in revealing the potential of a fully utilized and accessible broadband infrastructure is Frank Knott, President of ViTAL Economy, Inc (www.vitaleconomy.com) of Riderwood, Maryland . In 2002, Mr. Knott performed a ViTAL Economy readiness study in the SICBCC area that has proven to be seminal in terms of how we establish our goals and look to the future.
Vital Economy is a consulting company and also a philosophy of collaborative, connected interrelationships that drive a regional economy. The backbone – the method of communications between the participants and the world – is a fully utilized and accessible broadband Internet inftrastructure available throughout the region. |
If you are interested in participating in further developing the potential of broadband services in southern Illinois, please email either Rex Duncan or Kim Sanders. |