(East Stroudsburg, PA) – May 30, 2019 – A growing list of companies, governments and non-profit organizations in Monroe County are rallying together for affordable Gigabit internet technology as they also seek commonsense 5G investment in its County. The Monroe 5G|Gigabit Project is being led by Accelerate Pennsylvania, a collection of companies advancing technology across Pennsylvania, that led the successful 2017 Monroe Gigabit Project. The May 30th meeting was hosted by the Pocono Mountains Association of Realtors.
“We are very pleased to facilitate the Monroe County 5G and Gigabit Project meetings,” stated Nicole Murray, Association Executive of the Pocono Mountains Association of REALTORS®. “These efforts are designed to increase Gigabit options and broadband investment in the County, and to speed commonsense 5G wireless deployment. Affordable and fast broadband is critical to our local economy and real estate market.”
Organizations interested in reducing broadband pricing and increased connectivity are being asked to complete a 100-second cost survey at:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6YTB9ZK
The Due Date is July 3, 2019.
The group is trying to get 50 organizations in Monroe County to complete the broadband cost-survey.
“We’re confident we can drop broadband prices another 50% from our 2017 Monroe County Gigabit Project pricing, and get more organizations buying Gigabit connections,” said Kelly Lewis, one of the founders of Accelerate Pennsylvania. “We also want to help eliminate cell-phone dead-zones and get commonsense 5G wireless across the County as soon as possible.”
Many Monroe County organizations are focused on achieving Gigabit City status, where buyers can purchase one Gigabit internet connections for $1,000/year or less. More than 200 U.S. cities have achieved Gigabit City status and many supporters want Monroe County to be among the first regions in the NY/NJ/PA tri-state area to deliver, “Thousand-Dollar-Gigabit.”
Monroe County hosts a state-of-the-art incubator and company-accelerator, the East Stroudsburg University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, which is located along Interstate 80, and only 70-miles from NYC. https://www.esu.edu/ede/index.cfm ) Monroe County is strategically located at the intersections of Interstate 80, Routes 33, 611, 209 and the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike connecting Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, Lehigh Valley, central PA and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Companies seeking to relocate to Monroe County should contact: Chuck Leonard, Monroe County Economic Development Corporation, CLeonard@PMEDC.com, or 570.839.1992, www.PMEDC.com
2019 MONROE 5G|GIGABIT GOALS:
The 2019 Monroe 5G|Gigabit Project is specifically focused on (1) reducing broadband costs by 50%; (2) increasing Gigabit connectivity across Monroe County; (3) eliminating the number of cell service dead-spots with no service; (4) helping organizations and resorts offer WiFi hotspots where cell coverage is weak or obstructed, and, (5) positioning the County to get 5G wireless, ASAP.
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Next Meetings:
· June 26, 2019 (Wednesday) – Announce aggregated results of Monroe County Broadband Survey
· July 23, 2019 (Tuesday) – Launch Accelerated Broadband Request for Proposal (RFP)
· August 28, 2019 (Wednesday) – Updates on Broadband RFP
· September 24, 2019 (Tuesday) – Release Results of Broadband RFP to Buyers
For additional information on how to participate and keep posted on future meetings and events, follow Accelerate Pennsylvania on Twitter: @AcceleratePenna and on Facebook: @AcceleratePA.