County Profile Assignment 2: Internet Access(due March 9that 11.59pm)

Table 1: Public Internet Access Points - findpublic libraries and community centers with computers and free internet access (not just places with free wireless, must have free computers too).Create a table to list names and addresses of free internet access locations. If you have a hard time finding locations, you can include coffee shops.Try Google maps (search “nearby” for libraries, internet cafes, community centers, etc). You can enter zip codes on this site to find publicly funded Internet locations (although many of these are not publicly available): (after you enter a zip code, scroll down to near the bottom of the page to the map ‘Publicly Funded Internet Access’). For Table 1, do not list libraries in schools, as they are not open to the public.

For urbancounties, you need 2 different types of access points and AT LEAST 6 points of access. For rural counties you might only find 2 points, but you need to indicate that you looked for more. So, for urban counties, libraries and communities centers will be enough. For rural counties, you will have to work harder to find access points (try senior centers; as a last resort try coffee shops).Suburban counties may fall somewhere in between these two extremes – try to find 6 points, and indicate where you looked.

Figure 1: Broadband availability -Take a screen shot of a map of your county that shows information about broadband availability from the sites listed below. Make sure to label your screen shot to indicate what it shows (e.g. Mobile download speeds in Dane County).

Broadband Illinois

Simply select your county from the dropdown menu (‘Select a county’) and take a screenshot.

Link Wisconsin – Broadband Coverage Maps - play with the layers; there are many choices of information to display; you may select whatever information you find most interesting. You will need to take a screenshot that shows the borders of your county.

Minnesota – there are different choices of mapped information on this site:

Table 2: Broadband availability in different areas

Using your Figure 1, select 2contrastingcities or areas in your county in relation to broadband service (e.g. one area with slow or no broadband service and one with fast service). Find the zip code of the area by going to Google maps and clicking on an area. The address will appear on the side bar and in a pop-up on the map. If the address does not have zip code, keep clicking in the areas nearby, particularly on roads. Use your two zip codes to find data for Table 2 about broadband service in the 2 contrasting areas of your county:

Use this site for

  • Number of residential internet providers
  • % of consumers with 1 or fewer wired internet options available to them
  • Number of institutions that offer publicly funded internet access (near the bottom)
  • Click on “See all [state] stats” underneath the bullet points of statistics for more data such as number of internet providers in your state.

Use this site for

  • % of area with Internet availability for your 2 areas and state (see bar graph on the right-hand side of the page)

Make a table (copy Table 2 below) comparingbroadband service in two areas your county, your state, and the US. If your county is completely urban, that is fine – your data may look very similar. You can still compare to your state overall.

Table 2. Examples of broadband service

Number of Residential Internet providers / % of consumers with 1 or fewer wired internet options available to them / Number of institutions that offer publicly funded Internet access / % of area with Internet availability (download speeds faster than 25 Mbps)
[Area 1]
[Area 2]
[WI, IL, or MN] / n/a / n/a
US / n/a / n/a / n/a / 79

Discussion:

1.Refer to your screenshot and tables todescribe the overall availability of broadbandin your county.You might also use other data you found on the two websites listed above to describe your county’s broadband service. (200-250 words)

2. Select one location in your county. Using the information you’ve collected, describe options for accessing the internet for these two types of people: A) a retired person on a limited budget with an old computer and no internet access at home, B) a middle-class person with children needing high speed access and looking for a bargain.C) Would their options be different if they lived somewhere else in the county? Discuss these situations in terms of the factors discussed in lectures and/or the readings. (350 – 400 words)

Make sure to include a section listing your sources of information.

Assessment

3 points –tables and screenshots (complete, accurate, labeled)

3 points – discussion (addresses all the questions, shows analysis as well as description, makes connections to readings/lectures, correct length)

1 point – communication (writing mechanics, fluency, sources)