CENTRAL NEW YORK REGIONAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD
Established in 1966, the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board provides regional planning services for the five (5) counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego. The principal focus of the planning board is in the areas of economic development, environmental management, land use, transportation planning and regional information services. Located in upstate NY, the five (5) county regions cover an area of approximately 3,120 square miles and have an estimated population of 780,000. In August of 2002, the CNYRPDB commissioned ECC Technologies to conduct a telecommunications study to determine the telecommunications resources available in the region. The main objective of the study was to gain an understanding of the level of telecommunication coverage and the level of competition in the area and then to use that information as an economic development marketing resource. In the initial stages of the project information on the incumbent telecommunication providers, the competitive providers, the existing infrastructure, the types of services available and the level of competition was collected and documented. At the same time site-specific telecommunication attributes were collected on economic development or incubator sites. From this researched information, ECC Technologies created a final report with provider and services inventory, benchmarking and analysis. In addition to the report, a telecommunications database resource and a geographic information system (GIS) mapping program were constructed and developed. These products are being used by the CNYRPDB (and the individual counties) today to market the region during new business prospects meetings and EDA - RFI responses. The major benefits of this study were providing the EDA departments at each of the five (5) counties and the RPDB with a guide to understanding the importance of telecommunications to economic development and how to market what they have to their advantage. By documenting what telecommunication companies are providing service, what services are available and defining how the infrastructure is constructed the region today has a competitive advantage over areas that do not.
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