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AT&T donates fiber optic cable to University to help bridge digital divide By Deborah A. Benedetti
	AT&T is donating more than 500 miles of fiber optic cable worth more than $2 million to Penn State to support several pilot outreach projects within communities across Pennsylvania. The fiber optic cable will enhance high-speed Internet access and provide communities with the tools to help them build the foundation for economic and community development.   The fiber optic cable will be used as part of the Penn State Outreach Community Network Initiative. This program assists community leaders in developing and implementing plans to provide all citizens in the community with free access to computers, high-speed Internet access and software. The program also will offer citizens free access to training on how to use these tools. In addition, the program will include development of a community portal that provides free Web sites for all public and private community organizations. The Community Network Initiative will result in the aggregation of Internet demand of publicly supported organizations in a community.   “The Community Network Initiative is designed to help communities address some of the challenges they face in today’s economic climate,” Dr. Craig D. Weidemann, vice president for Outreach, said. “Many communities are losing or have lost their traditional manufacturing and natural resource-based industries. As a result, youth and young families are leaving their communities, tax bases for schools and local governments are declining, unemployment and underemployment rates are rising and poverty levels are growing. Access to information technologies can foster economic development.”   As AT&T Pennsylvania President J. Michael Schweder noted, “America has enjoyed universal telephone service for generations. At AT&T, we look forward to the day when advanced digital services will be just as widely available, and at a cost that’s just as affordable. AT&T is delighted to help Penn State by providing fiber optic cables for this innovative program that will help the many communities across the Commonwealth, whether rural or urban, that need high-speed Internet connections to and among vital public facilities.”   Dr. Theodore R. Alter, associate vice president for Outreach, director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences, added, “AT&T’s donation of fiber optic cable will enable Penn State to contribute to the goal of aggregating demand for broadband IT [information technology] services in Pennsylvania, especially in rural areas. Through discussions with communities about their IT futures, we will be able to work with them to enhance and strengthen their leadership capacity to help take full advantage of the educational, economic, social and political opportunities in the 21st century.”   AT&T’s donation consists of about 400 miles of 24-strand single mode fiber optic cable and about 85 miles of 48-strand single mode fiber optic cable, which includes 12 strands of True Wave fiber capable of supporting wave division multiplexing, as well as smaller quantities of several other types of fiber optic cable.   Penn State Outreach will use the fiber optic cable to help close the digital divide in rural Pennsylvania communities that identify themselves as needing help in establishing high-speed Internet connections among public buildings, such as public schools, libraries and hospitals. The University will donate the fiber optic cable to Community Network Initiative projects, joining in partnership with community leaders to improve the economy and quality of life for the community. These projects are in keeping with the University’s mission to foster economic and community development in Pennsylvania.   The Community Network Initiative projects also will provide opportunities for research for faculty members and students, especially students enrolled in the College of Agricultural Sciences master’s degree program in economic and community development. There are many critical questions that can be explored, including economic development issues, community processes, civic engagement topics and the impact of information technology on communities.   The fiber optic cable will be used to connect the buildings of publicly funded organizations. The system will run protocols like Ethernet, allowing the buildings to appear as one entity to a broadband services provider.   Communities are welcome to join the Community Network Initiative, Bill Shuffstall, senior extension agent with Cooperative Extension and project leader for the initiative, said. All that is necessary is that community leaders be willing to take leadership and ownership of the project. The first communities involved in the project will be used as demonstration sites for other communities.