TerraGo Helps Partnership for a Connected Illinois Bring Broadband to Citizens of Illinois

by | Jun 18, 2013

ATLANTA, June 11, 2013”Partnership for a Connected Illinois, Inc. (PCI), a nonprofit organization that collects and publishes broadband data usage to ensure that all citizens in Illinois have access to the Internet, is using TerraGo® geospatial collaboration software and GeoPDF® maps and imagery to produce maps of broadband coverage for the state. In addition, it is using TerraGo Toolbar® for sharing data and collaborating with carriers for updating new service areas or noting improvements of speed and service.

Currently, the state of Illinois is moving forward with efforts to increase Internet accessibility among its residents. The effort is fueled by the High-Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Act (Public Act 95-684), which calls for a nonprofit like PCI to implement a comprehensive, statewide high-speed Internet deployment strategy and demand creation initiative.

PCI sought a mapping solution that made it easy for any user to access and make updates to maps indicating broadband coverage areas and network speeds in those areas. PCI turned to TerraGo® geospatial collaboration software and GeoPDF® maps and imagery, which are among the most widely adopted solutions to produce, access, update and share geospatial information and applications with anyone, anywhere.

The implementation of TerraGo Publisher® for ArcGIS® has enabled PCI to produce maps of broadband coverage for the state broken down by specific counties. The organization also used the no-cost TerraGo Toolbar® for coordinating and sharing data with carriers for updating new service areas or noting improvements of speed and service. Carriers use TerraGo Toolbar to provide mark ups and other updates that can easily be round-tripped back to PCI's enterprise GIS.

PCI opted to use TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS and TerraGo Toolbar in its day-to-day workflow due to the solutions' versatility, ease-of-use and focus on a widely accepted PDF file format, said to PCI Analyst Dan Gavrilovic. In addition, PCI has found the TerraGo team to be responsive, customer centric, technically competent and innovative.

As managing massive amounts of data regarding Internet usage across an entire state can be very complex, PCI is taking a unique approach to solving this challenge, said John Timar, vice president of worldwide sales, TerraGo. By using next-generation geospatial collaboration solutions, the organization is able to effectively provide the right insights to help carriers ensure that all citizens have equal access to the Web.

The TerraGo product offered us a good solution to the challenge of providing offline access to our data and maps,” Brian Webster, PCI Telecom Project Coordinator added. The ability to download and save the GeoPDF maps has been a huge benefit to many of our users.”

To read the full PCI case study, click here.

About TerraGo

TerraGo develops powerful location intelligence, geospatial collaboration and field data collection solutions that help the world's leading defense and intelligence departments, government agencies and commercial enterprises achieve mission success. From news feeds, blog posts and social media to documents, maps and imagery, TerraGo allows organizations to discover location intelligence, integrate geospatial intelligence and deliver situational awareness to the edge of operations and back.

Founded in 2005, TerraGo developed some of the industry's most widely adopted geospatial integration and collaboration solutions, based on its innovative GeoPDF® technology, and pioneered place-based data discovery and visualization through its acquisition of Geosemble in 2012. Find the location intelligence solutions that matter to your mission at http://www.terragotech.com.

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