New advisory committee kicks off intensive community broadband expansion program

Des Moines, IA - This week, Connect Iowa and the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) convened the first broadband advisory committee meeting, kicking off a new community engagement effort to expand broadband access, adoption, and use across the state. Community leaders from around Iowa are now joining forces to oversee the expansion of high-speed Internet to every corner of the state. Connect Iowa's new broadband advisory committee includes elected officials, public service agency representatives, providers, educators, librarians, and business people. Their common goal is to support and guide the Connect Iowa initiative.

During the meeting broadband stakeholders discussed the history of broadband expansion in the state, and the plan for bringing broader access to Iowa communities in the coming year. The meeting was a great success and set the groundwork for how diverse broadband stakeholders can work together to further progress across the state in 2012.

"The inauguration of our broadband advisory committee marks an important step for Connect Iowa and signals our commitment to closing the digital gap that persists in our communities," says Connect Iowa Program Manager Amy Kuhlers. "We are excited to be bolstered by the support of key stakeholders representing all areas of economic interest. Connect Iowa, with the support of the advisory committee, is undertaking the important work of building grassroots regional planning to grow and expand technology use in communities across the state."

The closing of the digital adoption gap in Iowa will have a significant impact on the way citizens learn, work, and live their daily lives. According to Connect Iowa's latest broadband availability research from the 2011 Iowa residential and business surveys:

• 37% of Iowa households still do not subscribe to broadband at home

• 45% of Iowans living in rural areas do not subscribe to broadband service at home

• 23,000 Iowa businesses are still not using broadband despite the fact that Iowa businesses that use broadband make an average of $259,000 more in annual revenue than businesses without

"The first meeting of the advisory council was really interesting because there were so many people representing different pieces of the broadband puzzle around the table," said committee member and Iowa State Librarian Mary Wegner. "I am excited that we will be working together to improve broadband adoption in Iowa, improve the speed, and get more Iowans using broadband. The most important part, and the part where libraries really come into the picture, is to help Iowans really understand the limitless opportunities and what they can do when they have access to high-speed Internet."

Connect Iowa, in collaboration with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, is working with broadband providers and other public and private partners to speed up the expansion of broadband in unserved and underserved areas. The organization is pinpointing remaining gaps in Iowa's broadband availability and supporting the development of a statewide plan for the deployment and adoption of technology that promises economic development and better quality of life for Iowa residents.

The committee's first meeting kicked off a week of intensive training for a new grassroots program that Connect Iowa will be unveiling next week. The committee expects to meet quarterly with the next meeting planned for April.

If you have suggestions regarding how technology can be improved to better serve your community, Connect Iowa wants to hear from you. To submit comments, ideas, or gain access to the initiative's many online tools and resources, please visit www.connectiowa.org or contact Amy Kuhlers at akuhlers@connectiowa.org.

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About Connect Iowa: Connect Iowa is a subsidiary of Connected Nation and operates as a nonprofit in the state of Iowa to promote broadband access, adoption, and use. The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) is leading the initiative to increase broadband Internet access throughout rural Iowa. Connect Iowa was commissioned by the state to work with all broadband providers in Iowa to create detailed maps of broadband coverage and develop a statewide plan for the deployment and adoption of broadband. For more information visit: www.connectiowa.org.

Leading Business Technology Provider Changes the Way Law Firms Communicate

DAVENPORT, IA - December 20, 2011 - Midland Communications, a leading provider of unified communications, announced today that the company is placing special emphasis on bringing its innovative technology and applications to the rapidly growing legal industry.  Midland Communications has a number of valuable communications and data networking solutions that support the needs of the legal community.  These solutions have the unique ability of increasing productivity while decreasing the firm's carbon footprint because of the significant impact they have on attorney's commute times, marketing efforts, reduction of office space and reduction in operational costs.
"An attorney's time is very valuable and anything we can do to increase their efficiency has a dramatic impact to a law firm," said Jason Smith, Vice President of Midland Communications.  "The utilization of technology solutions like Unified Communications enhances a firm's green initiatives by drastically reducing the use of paper, reducing travel by utilizing video conferencing or web collaboration and allowing attorneys to receive calls, faxes and voicemails anytime, anywhere. This allows attorneys to work from home, at the courthouse or while they are visiting a client at their residence, while still providing the quality experience that both the firm and their clients have come to expect."

Unified Communication solutions provide a number of impressive benefits which increase productivity in law firms. One example is presence management, which informs assistants and partners of where the attorneys are located at all times. Another is call recording, which allows lawyers to save recordings to client files and email them internally. Conference call management integrates with Microsoft Outlook and call attached data tracks who called and other various statistics as well.  Fax-to-email and  the ability to schedule outgoing faxes through a fax server lower telecommunication costs help businesses go paperless. Furthermore, businesses can benefit multiple office connectivity through VoIP, which unifies all incoming and outgoing communication.  Additionally, law firms benefit significantly because attorneys are no longer tethered to a desk when they take advantage of Unified Communications' mobile capabilities. Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, enable law firms to increase productivity in a myriad of other ways as well.
The Unified Communications interface has been developed with the end user's specific needs in mind. This essentially means that the front-end of these systems are extremely easy to operate regardless of the individual's age or technical know-how.  The advanced technology is hidden within each solution and may be managed internally by the organization's IT department or by certified team of Unified Communications professionals.
"Legal is a very unique industry and we have partnered with leading Unified Communication manufacturers who make these solutions cost effective by integrating all these capabilities into a single box solution," added Jason Smith. "The types of solutions we offer greatly benefit law firms as well as make the lives of their attorneys easier and less stressful."

ABOUT MIDLAND COMMUNICATIONS
Midland Communications began more than 60 years ago in 1946 as the Worldwide Marketing Arm of Victor-Animagraph Projectors. In 1977 a communications division was formed due to a partnership with NEC America. Today, As a distributor of NEC America, for 33 years, Midland Communications has a customer base of more than 3,000 satisfied customers that include general businesses, government agencies, Universities, colleges, hospitals, and hotels.
Midland provides a wide range of communication services including VOIP, PBX and key systems, Wide Area and Local Area networking, computers, Computer integration, voice mail, CCIS, and video conferencing and paging systems. Our philosophy is simple, provide quality products at a fair price, backed by an average emergency response time of twenty minutes, and the best service in the industry. For more information on Midland Communications, call (563) 326-1237 or visit www.midlandcom.com.

The Magnalight LEDP3W-12X2C High Intensity Colored LED Light Emitter from Larson Electronics' is a powerful LED fixture that produces an intense colored light beam while offering rugged durability, versatile operation, and extreme efficiency. This LED light emitter produces 2,736 lumens in a choice of light colors including red, blue, green, and amber. As well as producing a powerful colored light beam, this LED emitter is designed with durability and versatile operation mind with an IP68 rated housing and Pulse Width Modulation technology that allows precise control of operating modes.

The LEDP3W-12X2C LED color light emitter produces 2,736 lumens of intense colored light, yet pulls only 36 watts at 3 amps from a 12 volt electrical system, making it both powerful and efficient. Available standard in a spotlight configuration, this LED light produces a 10 degree beam of highly focused colored light that is ideal for hunting or boating applications and can also be ordered in a 35 degree flood configuration for wider coverage of large areas closer to the fixture. Four color options are available including red, blue, green, and amber, allowing operators to apply this LED emitter to a wide range of applications including construction, law enforcement, boating, hunting, and industrial operations. The heavy duty design of this colored LED light lends itself well to outdoor and marine applications with a heavy aluminum housing rated IP68 waterproof, unbreakable polycarbonate lenses, and stainless steel mounting hardware that resists rust and corrosion and rubber mounting blocks that improve vibration tolerance. These colored LED emitters add extra versatility through the use of special LED drivers incorporating pulse width modulation technology that allows operators to connect an external controller to dim or cause the lights to flash or strobe as desired. This feature is particularly useful in marine and construction industries where a unit capable of producing a powerful and reliable strobing beacon is desired; that can stand up to rugged use. Also boasting a 50,000 hour rated operational life, these colored LED light bars from Magnalight.com will provide years of trouble free service without the need for frequent bulb replacement or servicing. The compact design incorporates twelve 3 watt CREE™ LEDs arranged in two stacked rows to produce a powerful yet compact unit that can be easily mounted in locations where space is limited. These units can be operated from any source of 9 to 42 Volt DC power, making them ideal for use on vehicles, equipment and watercraft that commonly utilize 12 or 24 volt electrical systems.

"The LEDP3W-12X2C was designed with rugged applications in boating, military, hunting and military to name a few, "said Rob Bresnahan with Larson Electronics' Magnalight.com.  "Red LED light emitters are ideal for military low light applications and hunting vehicles alike.  We offer a wide range of high powered LED lights with strong forward light projection in red, amber, green and blue infrared and UV for all types of commercial and industrial applications."

Larson Electronics' Magnalight.com carries an extensive inventory of LED lights, LED color lights, LED spotlights and 12/24 volt LED lights. Visit Magnalight.com to view their entire inventory of LED lighting solutions or contact them for more information by calling 1-800-369-6671 or 1-214-616-6180 for international inquiries.

Midland Communications Educates Customers on Powerful Stimulus Plan

DAVENPORT, IA - November 30, 2011 - Midland Communications, a leading provider in unified communications, announced today that the company is helping customers take advantage of a large tax-break for small to mid-sized businesses with Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 179. The tax benefit targets businesses who are contemplating large equipment purchases, such as technology, and significantly reduces the cost of purchasing such equipment. Section 179 allows business owners to write-off the entire cost, up to $500,000, on new equipment purchases made by December 31st, 2011.

Many Americans were left wondering how the Stimulus Package would have an impact on their lives and Section 179 has answered that question for many business owners. Creating significant savings on major purchases of equipment, software or phone systems, the federal government has enacted this bill in an effort to spur business-to-business spending. Right now businesses can expense the entire purchase price of qualifying equipment/software/phone systems in the first year up to $500,000 (to be reduced to $125,000 at the end of the 2011 tax year). Also slated to expire at the end of the 2011 tax year is the 100% Bonus Depreciation, which will drop down to 50 percent. For example, assuming you're in a 35% tax bracket, a $45,000 purchase would drop dramatically, and would cost approximately $29,250 after Section 179 has been applied to the transaction. In a transaction like this, Section 179 would yield a total savings of $15,750. While every transaction is different and tax professionals should be consulted on specific situations, the potential rewards of this government program has persuaded many business owners to seriously consider investing in new equipment before year-end.

The one caveat associated with this powerful program is that the new equipment must be in use by December 31, 2011 in order to qualify for the massive savings. This year, Section 179 also extends to cover software purchases in addition to traditional equipment. Many business owners have installed new business phone systems as a result of this addition to the tax code, because recent breakthroughs in telecommunications are enabling businesses to collaborate better, faster and more efficiently with one another.

"We were stunned to find out that so many of our customers had not yet heard of Section 179," commented Jason Smith, Vice President of Midland Communications. "We may specialize in delivering technology solutions to our customers, but we treat our customers like partners. If we find something as powerful as this we have always considered it to be our duty to communicate this information to our customers. Our goal is to introduce our customers to technology that increases their productivity, but more importantly increases their profitability . When an opportunity like this comes along, we're thrilled to skip discussions regarding technology, and go straight to the part where our customers get to enjoy increased profitability. That's why we're different and we plan on continuing to treat our customers like gold."