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Why use Design Nine?

Design Nine is a technology neutral planning firm. We help your team develop a technology master plan that can be fully integrated with other planning efforts.

Our decades of experience in the computer and telecommunications industries enables us to provide high quality technology expertise.

Technology and Telecommunications Master Planning

Every community and region needs a technology master plan. We recommend that the information and vision in the technology master plan be integrated with the community comprehensive plan (and the technology master plan could simply be part of the comprehensive plan).

Design Nine has a proven process to develop a Technology Master Plan for your community or region. The deliverables and activities include:

Supported activities include:

•A complete Technology Master Plan, with goals, objectives, and action steps. Design Nine Design will lead a technology task force technology through the development process, and we edit, write, and print the master plan document.

•We provide several draft versions of the plan, with ample opportunity for community review and input.

•Assessment of local telecom services and local needs, with special attention to economic development and business needs. The document includes a full section on technology and telecommunications needed to boost economic development.

•Identify current and future technology options, and outline a series of action steps to attract private sector providers of broadband services.

•An access-controlled Web site is provided to enable better collaboration among working groups, provide online access to draft documents, and to increase participation in the master planning process.

•Provide comparative analysis of technology services and options. Develop business models and planning scenarios for the community network.

For more information, call or write us.

This information as a printable PDF file.

What is broadband?

Future needs (looking out 4-5 years) are now widely projected to be 50 to 75 megabits/second (sustained) with burst needs of 2x (about 100 to 150 megabits per second). All voice, TV, data, video, music, and radio will migrate to the Internet.

Why it is risky to leave it to the incumbent providers

Existing DSL and cable modem technologies offer 1-2 megabits/second at best. Although the cable companies are promising more capacity in the future, the throughput they are discussing is in the range of 5-7 megabits/second--almost an entire order of magnitude less than will be required. Communities without the right kind of broadband put jobs and businesses at risk.