What are the advantages of having high-speed internet access?

Education – High speed represents a long-term social investment in the form of better-connected schools, availability of state-of-the-art digital learning initiatives, college distance learning and depth of offerings through public libraries;

Job Creation – In our information age of “work from anywhere,” availability of reliable, high speed broadband allows residents to compete with jobs across the nation – many customer service representatives currently work from home - anywhere;

Support Existing Business - By ensuring businesses have fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access, existing businesses can function efficiently, and expand their offerings and market reach;

Telecommuting – High speed Internet allows current residents to work from home more effectively and encourages part-time homeowners to spend more time in town, thereby increasing revenues through taxes and expenditures to local business. Harrison could benefit from the trend toward “working where you want to live, instead of living where you want to work.”.

Increased Productivity – By providing a reliable and fast Internet infrastructure, the productivity of existing businesses and new businesses (including home-based businesses) is improved to the benefit of residents and taxpayers;

Healthcare Availability - Telemedicine removes distance barriers to cutting-edge healthcare and makes it more available and affordable to all including those that cannot travel safely, are in emergency situations or cannot afford to visit urban clinics. Reliable high-speed Internet supports basic healthcare in an environment where patients are being forced to take on more responsibility for their health care through online monitoring of health status and online medical charts. Strong Internet speeds support patient/physician videoconferencing and provide patients with knowledge to self-help through webinars and other technology tools;

Help Seniors Stay at Home – Telemedicine supports elderly, military veterans and others by enabling diagnosis, treatment and monitoring from their homes. Elderly patients can continue to live at home longer, reducing the cost of eldercare and improving the quality of life in later years;

Increased Home value – High-speed broadband strengthens local housing markets by increasing home value and attracting a larger pool of buyers. We have already seen prospective buyers asking about the town’s broadband infrastructure.