Co-sponsored by Broadband Communities Magazine and the City of Danville, Virginia, this is the first conference of its kind in this country, an event devoted entirely to the relationship between a community's economic vitality and the presence of advanced broadband networks. Nations around the world have recognized this powerful linkage and responded to it, as have a growing number of communities in the United States. Each event in this new conference series will be held in a city with an advanced broadband system.

The city of Danville for the third consecutive year has been named one of the top 21 places in the world in integrating technology into the community.
Known as the Smart21, the list is compiled by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a New York-based think tank that studies the economic and social development of the 21st Century community. The ICF studies and shares the best practices of communities everywhere in order to find sustainable renewal and growth.
Danville is one of two communities in Virginia to make the list and one of just six in the United States.

City Council has approved a small residential deployment for this current budget year. The funds will allow approximately 250 homes to be connected. The initial area will cover part of the south Averett area from Wooding Avenue to Central Blvd with West Main being a boundary line. Currently Gamewood is the only service provider on nDanville offering services such as Internet and TV. Please contact them at (434) 799-8407 for questions regarding these services.

Danville Pittsylvania Community Services (DPCS) provides mental health, intellectual disability, substance abuse, and prevention services to the citizens of our City and County. They have had a partnership with the University of Virginia medical team via videoconferencing for several years. Recently they expanded the program to 40 hours a week via videoconferencing which is enabled by the services that nDanville provides. Please read more about Danville Pittsylvania Community Services videoconferencing with the University of Virginia at:

The nDanville Medical Network is one of two projects worldwide that will be honored on June 1 for the use of technology to improve health care in the community.
On that date, the Medical Network will receive the Founders Award from the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a New York-based think tank that studies and shares the best practices in establishing a broadband economy. The other recipient of the ICF’s Founders Award will be a planned community in Ipswich, Australia.

The nDanville fiber network, owned and operated by the City of Danville as an open access network, has helped a local dentist practice expand services to new locations, and has created jobs doing so. The affordable, high performance fiber has allowed the four office practice to have all dental records available at all four locations, reducing costs and making it easier for patients and the dentists.

http://www.wset.com/Global/story.asp?S=13506411

Danville City Council listened to staff in the October 19th work session on why the fiber to the home project was essential to Danville development and future. The revamped project from the orginal $2.5 million loan to pass 2,000 to 3,000 will connect roughly 530 homes and businesses in the south Averett area. The money spent on this deployment and future projects would come from revenues from existing nDanville connections and not taxpayer or utility ratepayer funds.

City Council voted on August 3rd to take the pilot fiber to the home project to the next City Council business meeting on August 17th for a formal vote. The project will require two readings, one being at th August 17th meeting and the next at the September 7th meeting. The $2.5 million dollar project will extend fiber optics passed 2,000-3,000 homes and businesses in select areas in Danville.

As a result of the July 6th City Council work session meeting, City Council members requested a survey be conducted to gauge the level of interest in the Averett target community. So far, Gamewood Technology Group has received around 20% of their 1,100 postcards back that were sent out to the targeted homes and businesses. Out of those appoximately 220 postcards, 85% were in favor of obtaining service. City Council will discuss more about the project in detail at the August 3rd work session meeting and vote on whether or not to move forward with the 2,000-3,000 home project.

nDanville is envisioned as the means through which the City of Danville can stimulate the local telecommunications market to provide the level of advanced broadband infrastructure and services needed to position the community for economic growth. Danville Utilities proposes to move in a pilot project fashion into the final phase of nDanville, described as “Phase III - Fiber to the Home.” This will involve extending current fiber optic infrastructure to approximately 2,000-3,000 homes inside the City limits.