Sept. 16, 2013
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Broadband Initiative launched a new survey designed to collect information on the use of broadband technology by Nebraska businesses.
The Nebraska Broadband Initiative, part of an effort to bring broadband high-speed Internet access and information technology to all areas of the state, partnered with Strategic Networks Group to create the Business Assessment Survey for the Digital Economy.
The survey was released Sept. 3.
"The results will provide very valuable information on broadband usage by Nebraska businesses," said Jim Keeler, business broadband manager at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "The survey will allow for comparison of business' broadband usage and impacts from other states nationwide. That is why we are encouraging businesses to be a part of this very exciting project."
Questions ask business owners how they are using broadband technology currently, said Charlotte Narjes, project planning lead.
"We are looking at how important broadband is for their businesses and what type of education is needed for them to utilize it further," Narjes said.
Narjes predicts that Nebraska's broadband usage will be higher than that national average in urban areas and lower than the national average in rural areas.
The survey takes about 20 minutes to fill out and all responses will be kept confidential. Up to 500 businesses that fill out the survey will receive a score card with information based on their results. These scorecards will give suggestions for how to better use broadband-based applications such as cloud computing, Keeler said.
Keeler stressed the importance of getting as many businesses to take the survey as possible.
"The more participation, the more accurate the findings," Keeler said.
Preliminary results from this survey will be presented at the third annual Broadband Connecting Nebraska Conference, held in Kearney on Oct. 16-17.
"It is a great opportunity to learn more about how to incorporate broadband into your business," Narjes said.
For more information, go to: broadband.nebraska.gov.
To take the survey, visit: http://tinyurl.com/BusinessAssessmentSurvey.