Utah’s Broadband Project Honored with GovMark Council Award

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, the GovMark Council presented its annual award for Outstanding State & Local Marketing Campaign to the Utah Broadband Project and Utah.Gov, the official website for the State of Utah.

“The Broadband Project team, in cooperation with our industry partners, have leveraged Utah’s broadband infrastructure to facilitate future business growth. Their ability to forge and maintain partnerships is instrumental in increasing awareness and participation among our citizens, local businesses and broadband providers.”

The GovMark Council is a non-profit forum focused on government information and technology that recognizes federal, state and local governments for innovation in technology and marketing programs. With the launch of broadband.utah.gov earlier this year, the Utah Broadband Project created a comprehensive resource for broadband mapping and planning within the state. That effort continues to escalate as it collaborates with partners across Utah.

“The Governor’s Office of Economic Development is honored to be recognized by the GovMark Council as an award winner,” said Spencer Eccles, executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED). “The Broadband Project team, in cooperation with our industry partners, have leveraged Utah’s broadband infrastructure to facilitate future business growth. Their ability to forge and maintain partnerships is instrumental in increasing awareness and participation among our citizens, local businesses and broadband providers.”

The Utah Broadband Project website was the first effort in Utah to feature a comprehensive interactive map developed through data gathered directly from broadband providers statewide. Broadband.utah.gov includes a broadband connection speed test, current project information and continual news updates.

To increase Utah Broadband Project awareness and participation, GOED utilizes social media outlets and leverages speaking opportunities to key industry and government decision makers both locally and throughout the country. Interested parties can view social media feeds including Twitter, read the Project blog and view SlideShare presentations on the Project website.

To find out more information about the Utah Broadband Project please visit:
Website: http://broadband.utah.gov
Twitter: https://twitter.com/utahbroadband

To find out more information about Utah.gov and Broadband.Utah.Gov please visit:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UtahGov
Facebook: http://www.utah.gov/facebook/
RSS feeds: http://www.utah.gov/connect/feeds.html
Utah blogs: http://www.utah.gov/blogs/

About Utah.gov

Utah.gov is the entry point to over 1000 online services and benefits over 2.7 million residents in the State of Utah. Utah.gov provides citizens and businesses with more convenient options for interacting with government. Through Utah.gov, citizens can find public meetings, renew their vehicle registration, buy a hunting and fishing license, register a business, find a transparent state budget, and much more. In 2010 alone, Utah.gov received an unprecedented 15 awards making it the nation’s most honored state website.

Utah.gov is the official Web portal for the State of Utah (http://www.Utah.gov). It was ranked first in the nation in the Center for Digital Government’s 2009 Best of the Web competition. It is managed and operated without tax funds through a public-private partnership between the state and Utah Interactive, the Salt Lake City-based official eGovernment partner for the state of Utah. Utah Interactive is part of eGovernment firm NIC’s family of companies.

About NIC

NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of government Web sites, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company's innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens, and businesses across the country. The NIC family of companies provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,000 federal, state, and local agencies across the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

About the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED)
Web: www.business.utah.gov

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) charter is based on Governor Gary Herbert’s commitment to economic development statewide. The mandate for this office is to provide rich business resources for the creation, growth and recruitment of companies to Utah and to increase tourism and film production in the state. GOED accomplishes this mission through the administration of programs that are based around targeted industries or “economic clusters” that demonstrate the best potential for development. GOED utilizes state resources and private sector contracts to fulfill its mission. For more information please contact: Michael Sullivan, 801-538-8811 or mgsullivan@utah.gov.