URISA announces a series of URISA Connect webinars throughout October, November and December.  The first three webinars have been announced and more will be added in the coming weeks. The current list of webinars are:

Extending Broadband Mapping into Economic Development and Planning Initiatives
1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 30
Duration: 90 minutes
Cost: URISA Members $25; non-members $40
Speaker: Ashley Hitt, GISP: Connected Nation
Abstract: Initiatives are under way on the data collection and analysis of broadband service inventories across nine states and one U.S. territory as part of the State Broadband Initiative (SBI) Grant Program; funding and oversight of this project is provided by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Broadband data is submitted to NTIA on a twice annual basis for inclusion on the National Broadband Map.
While broadband data can be collected and analyzed from several sources, data collection is done by working directly with all known broadband providers. After data is collected, processed and approved by the broadband provider, static maps and interactive mapping applications are updated with the aggregated broadband data for public consumption. Field validation and consumer-supplied inquiries are a critical part of the program that help verify the presence of broadband services on the ground, as corrections to the data and maps are based on these submitted affirmations or discrepancies.
Connected Nation has been working to extend the use of this collected broadband data as an economic driver for increased access, adoption and use of broadband services throughout the country. Iinteractive mapping applications, allows policymakers, broadband providers, stakeholders and the general public to interact with various broadband data layers, additional analyses, vertical assets and much more to help develop expansion plans and increase economic development.