Paradoxically, it is fast becoming a favoured roost for denizens of Silicon Valley North, as increasing numbers of high tech types make towns like Carleton Place a commuter haven. Today, Umbrella provides a BBS backbone which connects some six hundred users in dozens of Lanark County communities. In addition to providing e-mail, community online forums and a selection of Fidonet discussion groups. Umbrella has an extensive database of community resources. A couple of key strokes on Umbrella and you've accessed some of the 162 separate records listings for community groups in that town.
Organizers say it's the first county-wide rural network in Ontario, and one of the first in Canada.
Like many a startup enterprise along the Information Highway, Umbrella has had to deal with issues like expectations exceeding resources, communications and software hassles, and uncertain sources of long-term revenue. Right now, the organization, which up to now has depended on grants and modest user fees from those users who wanted more than the basic services provided on the BBS, is facing a financial crisis. But, having established a strong core user group, a very impressive community resources database and a lot of practical experience over the past two years, Umbrella is determined to survive. What the organization has achieved up to now is quite impressive. Umbrella began in 1993 as one of a number of ideas coming from a series of Community Futures Initiative meetings involving various groups in the county.