About Us

Connect Illinois is a partnership among regional and national organizations that have extensive experience in broadband mapping, demand creation, strategy development, and communications. 

Connect Illinois was chosen by the State of Illinois, through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, to help narrow the digital divide by serving as the state's partner to bring broadband access to unserved and underserved communities throughout Illinois.

Connect Illinois is the broadband mapping arm of The Partnership for a Connected Illinois, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that is a university-related organization under the Office of the President of Southern Illinois University. The day-to-day work of the Connect Illinois broadband mapping partnership is accomplished by three partners:

• Southern Illinois University – Under the Office of the President of Southern Illinois University Dr. Glenn Poshard, SIU’s leadership in community-level awareness and adoption of broadband access has been regionally transformative. As more Southern Illinoisans acquire and use this critical infrastructure to improve how they work, learn, earn, and communicate with the world, SIU looks forward to expanding that level of service and leadership throughout the state.
• Man-Tra-Con Corporation – Based in Marion, Illinois, Man-Tra-Con is the administrative and operational arm of the Connect SI initiative, a broadband-based economic and community development initiative that serves the 20 southernmost counties of the state. Operational since 2005, Connect SI has done much to link the region through an increasingly collaborative working relationship and the power of global connectivity.
• Connected Nation, Inc. – Since its inception as the nationally-recognized ConnectKentucky project, Connected Nation has set the national gold standard for broadband mapping and research. With Connected Nation heading up the mapping work under the Connect Illinois initiative, the citizens of Illinois are poised to gain access to some of the most granular, informative, and interactive depictions of broadband available today.

The Connect Illinois mapping partnership looks forward to helping the people of Illinois gain a clear understanding of their access to broadband, the barriers they face to adoption, and how they may be able to play a role in ensuring a connected and vital future for all Illinoisans.

For more information about Connect Illinois, please follow this link – Contact Us.