Project story
Broadband Illinois
Visit Broadband Illinois to check your coverage or see what else is available.
Expanded results of available carriers
An API section for software developers
On February 17, the Partnership for a Connected Illinois released Broadband Illinois. The new site—a joint four-week effort of Obtiva and Webitects, working with Drew Clark, Executive Director of Broadband Illinois—lets people look for wired and wireless broadband options near where they work or live. They can also check the speed of their current connections, share what prices they are paying, and rate their carrier’s service in general.
Broadband Illinois, a non-profit, is related to the US Commerce Department’s national broadband map, which was released at the same time. The overall goal of both efforts is to connect residents, in the words of Drew Clark, “with an information superhighway—one that needs to run through all the towns, villages, and boroughs of our united nation.”
Surprisingly, for years, broadband carriers have resisted disclosing where they provide service. Says Clark, “That's pretty important. Imagine a list of airline flight reservations without knowing which company's plane you'd be flying on…this resistance is mysterious, given that consumers know who sells them broadband.” Crowd sourcing of speeds, prices, and carrier service areas is crucial in developing reality-based broadband planning.
The site also contains an API, developed by Obtiva, that provides software developers access to all the state data with which they can create “mashups” that mix other data or presentations to create new value.
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