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Julie West Named Project Director of the Adirondack - Champlain Community Broadband Network
November 29, 2006
PLATTSBURGH, NY_ The Adirondack-Champlain Community Broadband Network (CBN) Board of Directors has appointed Julie West as project coordinator for the proposed 500-mile fiber optic and wireless network in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties.
West will work for the Technical Assistance Center (TAC) at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh. TAC is coordinating the CBN on behalf of a community board representing education, health care, libraries and business from Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties in New York.
"Julie West brings to the Adirondack-Champlain Community Broadband Network a background of information technology and telecommunications management that is a perfect fit for the project," said Andy Abdallah, chair of the CBN Board of Directors. "Her experience with corporate information technology contracts, network operations and telemedicine will serve us well as she coordinates the complex planning and construction of the vital digital infrastructure for the North Country."
West, a 1987 SUNY Plattsburgh graduate, comes to the CBN from Bombardier Transportation International where she served as global director of IS contracts, licensure and vendor management and, prior to that, global director of telecommunications. Before Bombardier, she served as manager of information technology and telecommunications for CVPH Medical Center.
The Adirondack-Champlain Community Broadband Network (CBN) is a broad-based, public-private community partnership that seeks to create a modern digital communications infrastructure that will allow communities in the three-county region to connect and compete within the global economy.
The proposed fiber optic and wireless network, which is in the planning stages, would provide abundant bandwidth to meet the current and future telecommunications needs of public and private users in the tri-county region.
Funding for the project, which is being administered through the Research Foundation of the State University of New York, has been secured by Congressman John McHugh (R-C, Watertown, N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-Chappaqua, N.Y.). The $545,000 in Federal funding will be used to complete a market demand analysis, business plan and conceptual network design.
For more information about the CBN, contact Abdallah at 518-562-1800 or by email: aabdallah@aedapc.com. To contact West, call 518-564-2214 or via email at julie.west@plattsburgh.edu.
Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau Releases Conversion Analysis Results
July 12, 2006
LAKE PLACID, NY - Visitors to Essex County in 2005 were younger and more affluent than in 2003 and 2004, and the average party size was 4.4 persons. For the third year in a row, the Technical Assistance Center (TAC), based at SUNY Plattsburgh, was contracted by the visitors bureau to conduct an independent, third party Leisure Travel Information Study.
The study is based on a survey of the bureau's 2005 trackable leads database. The intent of the study is to determine the effectiveness of the bureau's marketing programs, to measure the return on investment (ROI) ratio for public marketing expenditures, and the conversion rate factor, or the number of those leads who actually visited the region.
The 2005 results affirm the findings from the two previous years' studies. The conversion rate in 2005 climbed to 80 percent as compared to 70 percent in 2004. The average daily expenditures increased in 2005, which resulted in a return on investment ratio of 85:1. So, for each dollar the bureau spent on marketing, visitors to Essex County spent $85. The 85:1 ratio is a dramatic rise from 51:1 in 2004, which can be attributed to the bureau's increased leads generation; up 25 percent from 2004.
The survey was distributed to the bureau's trackable leads database, which is comprised of leisure travelers only. What are "trackable" leads? Years ago, the bureau developed a customer list (database) that serves as the foundation for all of its marketing and communications efforts. This valuable resource is utilized to develop stronger relationships with our customers and better understand their behavior. Each of the regional websites--lakeplacid.com, lakechamplainregion.com, schroonlakeregion.com, and whitefaceregion.com--prompts the site visitor to fill out an online contest entry form to win a vacation in that region. By filling out the form, and indicating their interest categories, the visitor is then added to the bureau's marketing database. This database contains what the Bureau refers to as valuable, "trackable" leads.
New leads are added to the database on a constant basis. Visitors are driven to the regional websites by advertisements, editorial coverage, and by word of mouth. Walk-in visitors, phone and mail information inquiries are added by the visitors service staff.
Though we know that lakeplacid.com alone receives millions of unique visitors, the survey takes only these trackable leads into consideration. The results do not include any standard economic multipliers, such as the impact from group visitation, staff expenditures, sales tax or events. (To clarify, for example, the $7 million in direct expenditures that Lake Placid Ironman USA generates for the area is not reflected in these results.)
Other notable results: the average income of respondents was over $90,000, and the average age was 46.9, down from 47.2 in 2004. The Internet was used by 91.1 percent of respondents to conduct travel research. The top activity that attracted these visitors to the region were sightseeing, which was slightly ahead of relaxing, dining and shopping. The third most popular activity was hiking, followed by visiting the Olympic sites.
What do these results mean? Overall, they indicate that the bureau's marketing and CRM programs are working. "The conversion study respondents again reported a high (93%) satisfaction level with the information that they received from the bureau," said James McKenna, president of the bureau. "They also provide insight into the demographics and psychographics of our target markets for consideration in developing future marketing plans."
Copies of the study can be acquired by contacting the visitors bureau at news@lakeplacid.com, or by calling Carol Joannette at (518) 523-2445 ext. 104.
The Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau is a private, not-for-profit marketing organization, responsible for the promotion of Essex County, New York as a tourism destination through traditional marketing efforts, communication, and quality destination development.
Adirondack-Champlain Community Broadband Network Moving Forward
April 27, 2006
PLATTSBURGH, NY - A community project to supply the North Country with a new broadband network is progressing, and an advisory board, including members from Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties, has been formed and will meet for the first time this month.
The Adirondack - Champlain Community Broadband Network (CBN) is a broad-based, public-private community partnership that seeks to create a modern digital communications infrastructure that will allow communities in the three-county region to connect and compete within the global economy.
The Partnership Advisory Board, which was recently formed, will assume oversight for the project. One of the board's first tasks will be to determine the market need and then develop a business plan. Preliminary studies for the network, which were done by the industrial development agencies in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties and the Town of Plattsburgh, indicate a fiber backbone consisting of approximately a 5OO-mile system would need to be built. The studies initially concluded that the system could be constructed in a three-to-five year span at an estimated cost of $15-20 million.
The fiber optic and wireless network would provide abundant bandwidth to meet the current and future telecommunications needs of public and private users in the tri-country region. Due to financial constraints, existing service providers (telephone, cable companies) have built where there have been sufficient customers, leaving areas of the region underserved. These providers would be able to supply services on a competitive basis to additional customers when the system is built and operational.
The project has garnered $545,000 in federal funding to date with the help of Congressman John McHugh (R-C, Watertown, N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-Chappaqua, N.Y.) Those funds will be used for network planning costs.
"Closing the digital divide that currently exists between our country's rural and urban regions is a top priority for me," Congressman John McHugh said recently. "I have been a supporter of the Community Broadband Network since it was first brought to my attention, and that's why I worked to secure more than $500,000 in last year's budget to help continue its development.
"Statistics show that expanding fiber optic infrastructure has a direct benefit on enhancing economic development opportunities and creating jobs. In addition, the network will positively benefit North Country residents, businesses, and hospitals, as well as our schools, by ensuring critical access to communication technology."
Senator Clinton said that states and localities in rural parts of New York and across the country are struggling to find sufficient funds to upgrade public safety radio and data systems. "I am pleased that we can support projects like the Community Broadband Network, combining public safety needs with commercial efforts to deploy new wireless and fiber optic networks," said Senator Clinton.
"High speed communications are an economic lifeline to communities in the North Country and these funds will also bring us closer to realizing our goal of bringing broadband to the region. Not only is this an important step in linking local communities, it will also ensure that the entire region has the digital communications resources it needs to connect and compete with the rest of the world."
The funding for the project will be administered through the Research Foundation of the State University of New York. The Technical Assistance Center (TAC) at SUNY Plattsburgh is coordinating the project for the board.
"I don't think there is any more important economic development and educational project for the region than this one," said Andy Abdallah, who will chair the Partnership Advisory Board for the first six months. Abdallah has been involved with the project since its inception when he served as the former supervisor of the Town of Plattsburgh. Jody Olcott, co-director of the Essex County Industrial Development Agency, will serve as vice chair during the same six-month period.
Publicly owned broadband networks are springing up across the nation, said Howard Lowe, director of economic development at TAC. Two nearby systems are now operating - Open Access Telecommunications Network, operated by Development Authority of the North Country, and Burlington Telecom, operated by the City of Burlington Vt.
"Private service providers that are doing business in the area today have provided input to CBN, and will continue to be asked for their input during the planning phase," said Lowe. "We want the new capacity to benefit as many people as possible."
For additional information about the proposed Adirondack-Champlain Community Broadband Network, contact Andy Abdallah at 518 562-1800 or by email: aabdallah@aedapc.com
A Platform for Innovation and Job Growth in Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties
Coordinated by the Technical Assistance Center at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh
Contact Information
For more information about the Technical Assistance Center at SUNY Plattsburgh, please contact:
E-mail: tac@plattsburgh.edu
Phone: (518) 564-2214
194 US Oval
Plattsburgh, NY 12903