Code for UV Announces Impact Sprint Designation and Partnership with ValleyNet, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 23, 2022
Code for Upper Valley, codeforuv@gmail.com, codeforuv.org

Code for UV Announces Impact Sprint Designation and Partnership with ValleyNet, Inc.

Bradford, Vermont: Code for Upper Valley (UV) is pleased to announce the inclusion of its RuralNet application as one of 12 projects in the Impact Sprint program of its parent organization, Code for America. The Impact Sprint program seeks to empower volunteer software engineers by providing project management support and encouraging partnership with local organizations. Code for UV is partnering with ValleyNet as part of its mission to provide fiber internet to the home of every resident of the towns it manages on behalf of the East Central Vermont Telecommunications District (“ECFiber”) and Lyme Fiber.

RuralNet was born out of a Community Pitch Night in November 2019 hosted by The Space On Main, Code for UV’s fiscal sponsor. The project was pitched by Edward Childs and Claude Phipps, then board members of the REDI project to provide fiber broadband to residents of Newbury, VT. Newbury joined the ECFiber Communication Union District in May of 2020. RuralNet is a web application that enables crowd-sourced internet speed reports to be displayed in a map format. These are speeds that subscribers actually experience at their service location, which often differ from the speeds announced or advertised by their internet service provider.

Tom Cecere, the CEO of ValleyNet, plans to provide the RuralNet app as a tool for his installers and customers to document and verify delivered broadband speeds. Jennifer Lynn, the project manager for RuralNet, is also exploring ways to partner with Code for America’s National Action Team for broadband access and their efforts to promote the Affordable Connectivity Program. The Code for UV brigade is led by co-captains Craig Mackenzie and Arlene Guest and in addition to Jennifer Lynn, includes a team of talented local developers, including Colby Hemond and Eshin Jolly.

About Code for UV (codeforuv.org): Code for UV is a Code for America Brigade, or local chapter, focused on improving the lives of residents of the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire. Code for UV is sponsored by The Space On Main and made up of individuals who are interested in changing the Upper Valley for the better. We work with local government and nonprofits to fix local services, utilize open data to improve citizen knowledge, and work for the betterment of all. There are plenty of opportunities to use your skills. Even if you are not a tech type, we can still have opportunities for you to contribute. Become part of a movement to improve our community!

About Code for America (codeforamerica.org): Code for America is a non-partisan, non-political nonprofit organization founded in 2009 to address the widening gap between the public and private sectors in their effective use of technology and design. The organization works to improve government services for all, starting with those who need them most. The organization began by enlisting technology and design professionals to work with city governments in the United States in order to build open-source applications and promote openness, participation, and efficiency in government, and now works with state, county, and federal government to spread the principles and practices of “delivery-driven government.” It has grown into a cross-sector network of public sector change agents and a platform for “civic hacking”. The Code for America Brigade Network includes 80+ brigades across the country committed to volunteering in their local communities.