by Paul Budde
www.budde.com

Wrong. The field of dreams only happens in films. In the real world it takes a lot of effort. A telling example with lessons for Australia is Cornwall.

Late last year, British Telecom announced plans to install 150,000 kilometres of fibre cable in Cornwall. BT is providing £78.5m and there will be up to £53.5m from the European Regional Development Fund. The European Commissioner for regional policy, Johannes Hahn, said it was the largest investment of its kind supported by EU funds.Sally Davis, the chief executive of BT’s Wholesale division, called the venture an “absolute landmark” for the company and said “This is the most ambitious rural fibre project in the world.”

Why Cornwall?

It is because Cornwall has proved itknows how to promote broadband.Back in April 2002, Cornwall invested € 20 million (from various sources including € 4.5 million from British Telecom and € 7.5 from the EU) in project actnow to bring ADSL to the region. It had stretching objectives. Within the first three years, actnow was supposed to achieve a coverage rate of 50% and a broadband penetration of 3300 businesses (equivalent to about 18% of all businesses). BT was sceptical because an earlier development of the DSL infrastructure in a rural region in Wales had only reached 3% broadband penetration among businesses 1.5 years after its launch.However, actnowachieved a coverage rate of 99% within the first four years and the challenging target of 3300 businesses using broadband connections was reached a year ahead of time.

Actnow has changed the image of Cornwall, from a rural laggard to a region where it is worth living and working. It became more attractive for investors, for innovative businesses and for young people who are returning to the region. According to actnow, about 4300 broadband-related jobs have been created between 2002 and 2007 (including through start-ups) and the contribution to the annual GDP of Cornwall has been about € 140 m. This is a seven-fold return on the initial investment.

What can we learn from actnow?

In 2002, businesses and especially small business lacked an awareness of the potential of broadband. One of the themes emerging from the many submissions to the House of Reps Inquiry into the Role and Potential of the NBN is that prospective end-users do not know much about the NBN beyond the hype.

To overcome such obstacles to the adoption and utilisation of the NBN, we need to focus on measurements such as: 

This is exactly the kind of work that the Strategic Networks Group (SNG) has been engaged in for many years. SNG goes to the heart of a region’s broadband challenges and success by going straight to a region’s businesses, organizations, and households to collect information on how they use and benefit from broadband.

For its 30th anniversary this year, ATUG has invited the founder of SNG, Michael Curri, to run a workshop on regional planning for broadband on 30th March in Sydney.

Digital Economy Analytics Platform from SNG enables SNG clients to compare how businesses, organizations, and households are connected, using, and benefiting from the internet. This unique dashboard and benchmarking tool enables localities and economic development agencies to uncover actionable information and insights. With this new solution from SNG, elected officials can identify broadband gaps and prioritize how to bridge those gaps across their territory.

Digital Economy Analytics Platform puts all the data from SNG’s in-depth analysis reports at your fingertips in a secure Web-based tool, allowing you to run your own queries and reports. Identify where, how, and by who broadband is being used to uncover gaps and opportunities to be addressed. Broadband utilization and its measurable impacts can quickly be assessed along multiple dimensions of geography, user characteristics, and Internet technologies to identify where broadband is being used to greater or lesser effect.

The easier it is for our clients and their stakeholder groups to gain intelligence from their data, the more value that data has for them. This is why SNG has invested in the Digital Economy Analytics Platform and will continue to develop its capabilities. Our goal is to maximize the social benefits and economic growth that can be derived from broadband technologies and our mission is to arm our clients and stakeholders with the information and intelligence to take effective action towards this goal. The Digital Economy Analytics Platform is one more powerful step toward fulfilling this mission.

By using the Digital Economy Analytics Platform, users are now just a click of the mouse away from unlocking the keys to maximizing the business and social benefits of broadband:

“SNG’s latest business intelligence solution, its ‘Digital Economy Analytics Platform’ provides North Carolina the ability to see our broadband data and its economic impact in ways that were previously not easily available to us,” explains Jane Smith Patterson, Executive Director of e-NC “North Carolina now has access to Strategic Network Group’s world-class solution set to analyze broadband utilization and its impacts. The ability for our staff to customize how we see the data and compare it among regions and industries will prove critical for program planning and provide e-NC a strategic advantage to support NC communities regional economic development efforts both locally and globally.”

“What’s really exciting about Digital Economy Analytics Platform is the ability to compare regions not just within your own territory but across the globe,” explains SNG president and CEO Michael Curri. “With results from studies across the globe, those who wish to share their study results can compare their region to other states, provinces, countries, etc. to better understand steps they can take can do to fully leverage the benefits of high speed Internet. Researchers recognize what we have built as a ‘normative database’ – for the laymen, it is simply the only way for one region to compare itself to another in the world of broadband utilization.”

SNG goes to the heart of a region’s broadband challenges and success by going straight to a region’s businesses, organizations, and households to collect information on how they use and benefit from the Internet. How are people and organizations using broadband? What are they not doing? What are their needs and barriers? How do they benefit and how do these benefits translate into tangible social and economic impacts? How does broadband utilization and its impacts change over time?

All of this collected information, analyzed by SNG’s Broadband Economists and made available through the Digital Economy Analytics Platform enables stakeholders to develop programs and initiatives to drive innovation and economic development.

With our proven track record of showing regions how the use of Internet technologies will be most effective and deliver the most benefits, SNG’s Digital Economy Analytics Platform brings the ability to uncover the drivers of success and the needs of specific geographies more than ever before.Digital Economy Intelligence Database from SNG enables SNG clients to compare regions and industries to uncover actionable information and insights. With this new solution from SNG, regional leaders can leverage the best practices from each region and industry across their territory.

Digital Economy Intelligence Database puts all the data from SNG’s in-depth analysis reports at your fingertips in a secure Web-based tool, allowing you to run your own queries and reports. Identify where, how, and by who broadband is being used to uncover gaps and opportunities to be addressed. Broadband utilization and its measurable impacts can quickly be assessed along multiple dimensions of geography, user characteristics, and Internet technologies to identify where broadband is being used to greater or lesser effect.

The easier it is for our clients and their stakeholder groups to gain intelligence from their data, the more value that data has for them. This is why SNG has invested in the Digital Economy Intelligence Database and will continue to develop its capabilities. Our goal is to maximize the social benefits and economic growth that can be derived from broadband technologies and our mission is to arm our clients and stakeholders with the information and intelligence to take effective action towards this goal. The Digital Economy Intelligence Database is one more powerful step toward fulfilling this mission.

By using the Digital Economy Intelligence Database, users are now just a click of the mouse away from unlocking the keys to maximizing the business and social benefits of broadband:

“SNG’s latest business intelligence solution, its ‘Digital Economy Intelligence Database’ provides North Carolina the ability to see our broadband data and its economic impact in ways that were previously not easily available to us,” explains Jane Smith Patterson, Executive Director of e-NC “North Carolina now has access to Strategic Network Group’s world-class solution set to analyze broadband utilization and its impacts. The ability for our staff to customize how we see the data and compare it among regions and industries will prove critical for program planning and provide e-NC a strategic advantage to support NC communities regional economic development efforts both locally and globally.”

“What’s really exciting about Digital Economy Intelligence Database is the ability to compare regions not just within your own territory but across the globe,” explains SNG president and CEO Michael Curri. “With results from studies across the globe, those who wish to share their study results can compare their region to other states, provinces, countries, etc. to better understand steps they can take can do to fully leverage the benefits of high speed Internet. Researchers recognize what we have built as a ‘normative database’ – for the laymen, it is simply the only way for one region to compare itself to another in the world of broadband utilization.”

SNG goes to the heart of a region’s broadband challenges and success by going straight to a region’s businesses, organizations, and households to collect information on how they use and benefit from the Internet. How are people and organizations using broadband? What are they not doing? What are their needs and barriers? How do they benefit and how do these benefits translate into tangible social and economic impacts? How does broadband utilization and its impacts change over time?

All of this collected information, analyzed by SNG’s Broadband Economists and made available through the Digital Economy Intelligence Database enables stakeholders to develop programs and initiatives to drive innovation and economic development.

With our proven track record of showing regions how the use of Internet technologies will be most effective and deliver the most benefits, SNG’s Digital Economy Intelligence Database brings the ability to uncover the drivers of success and the needs of specific geographies more than ever before.

By Thibaud Châtel

Last year the SNG team partnered with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology of Trondheim, a well-known European “Think Tank” for students. SNG provided support to a Master’s Degree student in Telematics, Steffen André Stople, in the form of an e-Solutions Benchmarking project. We studied the hospitality sector (hotels, bed & breakfast, camping facilities, etc.) of the Hardanger Fjord area, which include the second and third most populated cities of Norway – both extremely tourism dependent.

With an excellent response rate among the accommodation business of the area, comparisons were able to be drawn between Norway and the American tourism & hospitality sector by using SNG’s previously collected data.

As with much of Europe, Norway is ahead of the US in terms of broadband availability. And given connectivity, utilization should follow the same pattern (even though e-solutions drive utilization as much as availability, see below, next story).

While these results were well received in Norway, illustrating Scandinavians’ advance in the web-enabled 21st century – it is discouraging for those who believe in broadband’s powers and call the United States “home.” A significant portion of American organizations are not even considering the benefits of broadband and web-enabled solutions!

The “Trondheim paper” illustrates the way to follow, and most satisfied with this work, SNG will continue to support similar projects. Click here to download the full report.

         

SNG Announces Industry’s First and Only Hands-On, Comparative Database

  

Digital Economy Analytics Platform from SNG enables SNG clients to compare regions and industries to uncover actionable information and insights. With this new solution from SNG, regional leaders can leverage the best practices from each region and industry across their territory.   

Digital Economy Analytics Platform puts all the data from SNG’s in-depth analysis reports at your fingertips in a secure Web-based tool, allowing you to run your own queries and reports. Identify where, how, and by who broadband is being used to uncover gaps and opportunities to be addressed. Broadband utilization and its measurable impacts can quickly be assessed along multiple dimensions of geography, user characteristics, and Internet technologies to identify where broadband is being used to greater or lesser effect.   

The easier it is for our clients and their stakeholder groups to gain intelligence from their data, the more value that data has for them. This is why SNG has invested in the Digital Economy Analytics Platform and will continue to develop its capabilities. Our goal is to maximize the social benefits and economic growth that can be derived from broadband technologies and our mission is to arm our clients and stakeholders with the information and intelligence to take effective action towards this goal. The Digital Economy Analytics Platform is one more powerful step toward fulfilling this mission.   

By using the Digital Economy Analytics Platform, users are now just a click of the mouse away from unlocking the keys to maximizing the business and social benefits of broadband:   

  

“SNG’s latest business intelligence solution, its ‘Digital Economy Analytics Platform’ provides North Carolina the ability to see our broadband data and its economic impact in ways that were previously not easily available to us,” explains Jane Smith Patterson, Executive Director of e-NC “North Carolina now has access to Strategic Network Group’s world-class solution set to analyze broadband utilization and its impacts. The ability for our staff to customize how we see the data and compare it among regions and industries will prove critical for program planning and provide e-NC a strategic advantage to support NC communities regional economic development efforts both locally and globally.”   

“What’s really exciting about Digital Economy Analytics Platform is the ability to compare regions not just within your own territory but across the globe,” explains SNG president and CEO Michael Curri. “With results from studies across the globe, those who wish to share their study results can compare their region to other states, provinces, countries, etc. to better understand steps they can take can do to fully leverage the benefits of high speed Internet. Researchers recognize what we have built as a ‘normative database’ – for the laymen, it is simply the only way for one region to compare itself to another in the world of broadband utilization.”   

SNG goes to the heart of a region’s broadband challenges and success by going straight to a region’s businesses, organizations, and households to collect information on how they use and benefit from the Internet. How are people and organizations using broadband? What are they not doing? What are their needs and barriers? How do they benefit and how do these benefits translate into tangible social and economic impacts? How does broadband utilization and its impacts change over time?   

All of this collected information, analyzed by SNG’s Broadband Economists and made available through the Digital Economy Analytics Platform enables stakeholders to develop programs and initiatives to drive innovation and economic development.   

With our proven track record of showing regions how the use of Internet technologies will be most effective and deliver the most benefits, SNG’s Digital Economy Analytics Platform brings the ability to uncover the drivers of success and the needs of specific geographies more than ever before.   

Local case study on broadband utilization shows US business behind Norway:  “The Trondheim Paper”    

  

By Thibaud Châtel   

Last year the SNG team partnered with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology of Trondheim, a well-known European “Think Tank” for students. SNG provided support to a Master’s Degree student in Telematics, Steffen André Stople, in the form of an e-Solutions Benchmarking project. We studied the hospitality sector (hotels, bed & breakfast, camping facilities, etc.) of the Hardanger Fjord area, which include the second and third most populated cities of Norway – both extremely tourism dependent.   

With an excellent response rate among the accommodation business of the area, comparisons were able to be drawn between Norway and the American tourism & hospitality sector by using SNG’s previously collected data.   

As with much of Europe, Norway is ahead of the US in terms of broadband availability. And given connectivity, utilization should follow the same pattern (even though e-solutions drive utilization as much as availability, see below, next story).   

  

While these results were well received in Norway, illustrating Scandinavians’ advance in the web-enabled 21st century – it is discouraging for those who believe in broadband’s powers and call the United States “home.” A significant portion of American organizations are not even considering the benefits of broadband and web-enabled solutions!   

The “Trondheim paper” illustrates the way to follow, and most satisfied with this work, SNG will continue to support similar projects. Click here to download the full report.   

Quick Bytes

 News items from the broadband economists…   

SNG’s own John DeRidder showed up on the news in Australia, commenting on the NBN  initiative. John talks about how the speed may be a great feature, but price point and lack of e-solutions from the NBN are barriers they are going to have to overcome. Click here to watch the clip on You Tube>>> 
  

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

   

 

 


Click through to see the latest results from SNG, showing the direct results of how e-solutions increases utilization. Click here to see the chart>>>
   

    

An Innovative State of the Union Address Points to the Importance of Broadband

by Doug Adams

Every year in late January, whether “my guy” is President or not, I sit down to watch the “State of the Union Address.” Typically it is marked by partisan politics and divisiveness, characterized by a laundry list of initiatives – covering everything from domestic issues to foreign affairs.

This year, Americans were told, would be different.  The speech would be about the economy and jobs… and how we’re going to get back on track.  And for the most part – minus a pared down laundry list – that’s what we heard Tuesday night.  And before I am accused of being partisan or an Obama lackey… I voted for the other guy.

So putting politics aside, let’s focus on what we heard about the Internet, Broadband, and what it could… or should mean to our future – be it citizens of the U.S., Europe, Australia, etc. Regardless of where we all fall in the political spectrum – the address resonates with what SNG has been touting – broadband means jobs, broadband means innovation – and it was nice to hear about this on such a big stage.

Tuesday night was not the first time President Obama spoke of the United States reaching another “Sputnik moment,” but it was the most forceful use of the analogy he has used, and to the largest audience.  The President sees the parallel between 2011 and the “Space Race” of the sixties – when the Soviet Union’s innovative satellite challenged the U.S. to get involved or be left behind. Innovation, John F. Kennedy believed, would be the key to America’s prosperity.

Today’s space race, put quite simply, is Broadband connectivity – availability and speed – and utilization of e-solutions.  As President Obama opined, “The world has changed…. The rules have changed…. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an Internet connection.”

While what I am hearing is a bit of a “duh” moment… it really piques my interest when he backs this up saying:  We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.  Okay… so he has my attention… here is a President that realizes it is the 21st century.  He seems to understand that innovation is what made the United States the largest, most powerful economy in the world… and here’s the important part – that the key to innovation, and jobs… and prosperity is Broadband. 

Not groundbreaking… but refreshing, and encouraging.  And backing his words, Obama promises to lead initiatives that result in “research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race,” promising government investment in biomedical research, information technology, and clean energy technology – all of which he sees as creating countless new jobs.

So, no matter what side of the aisle you are on, if you are a proponent of broadband – it is wonderful to have the issue raised on such a big stage – and hopefully further advanced, even beyond initial stimulus funding.

SNG believes – and has proven through work in multiple regions across the globe – that broadband and Internet connectivity does in fact create jobs.  Not necessarily jobs that we can see today – but it provides a platform for innovation and growth.  As President Obama explained Tuesday, we didn’t know that the Internet would create an economic revolution.  We may not know where the jobs of tomorrow will come from – but we know what they will require, a robust, far-reaching Broadband Infrastructure.  Obama wants to encourage innovation because he believes that, “In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living.”

Read the entire address: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48181.html#ixzz1C9tadI00

 

Broadband Stimulus… No, Not THAT Stimulus… in Europe   

By Joanna Taylor

In 2009, the European Commission found that:
Broadband is of strategic importance because of its ability to accelerate the contribution of information and communication technologies to growth and innovation in all sectors of the economy and to social and territorial cohesion. 

Nearly two years and hundreds of million dollars later in US Stimulus funding – not to mention the NBN in Australia –  what have the Europeans been doing?  The answer is establishing stimulus packages which have a European twist.

Back in that same year of 2009, realizing that communication providers were not going to be able to fund broadband networks that would reach all 495 million inhabitants spread over 27 countries, the European Union Commission placed a little more 1 billion Euros into the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Concurrently, the Commission publicly encouraged member states to support broadband developments as a key enabler for economic growth and rural sustainability.

Here is where the catch comes… there is always a catch, right?  The Commission also had (and continues to have) a keen interest in seeing market competition as a force to maximize the economic welfare of its citizens. The question the Commission wrestles with  is whether subsidies made to one player in a market are likely to have a negative  effect on competition for the provision of services in that market, which would be to the detriment of those same citizens.

The conundrum was clear.

The solution lay in a series of guidelines under the snappy title of “Community Guidelines for the application of State aid rules in relation to rapid deployment of broadband networks.”  These set out a series of criteria that any publicly supported roll out of broadband, that is any stimulus package, must meet before public funds can be used.

The guidelines require the member state of the European Union to demonstrate that:

(a) the use of public funds will result in a higher level of broadband coverage and penetration, or at a faster rate, than would occur without that aid, and
(b) that the positive effects of this aid outweigh its negative effects in terms of distortion of competition

In January 2011 the Commission announced that it has approved a record amount of public aid for broadband development in, among others areas, Catalonia, Finland and Bavaria. This involved the use of over €1.8 billion of public funds for broadband development to support economic recovery, inclusive growth and the long term competitiveness of the EU and will potentially generate up to €3.5 billion of investments in the sector. Of those projects Germany accounted for 6, Italy 4, the UK, 3, Spain 3, while Sweden, Finland, Austria and Estonia each had one.

Approved State aid for broadband per year in the EU

Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia commented: “Smart investments into high and very high speed broadband infrastructures are crucial to create jobs, increase economic performance and to unlock the competitive potential of the EU in the long term. The Commission is committed to help EU countries to accelerate private and public investments in this sector.”

So – in a rather different manner – Europeans get their own version of broadband stimulus.

A few articles from 2010 we want to make sure you have seen. 

It’s Not Adoption… Utilization is the Key  

By Michael Curri

A few weeks ago I was on a phone call discussing broadband adoption and it struck me how ‘adoption’ meant two different things between the client and myself. I was taking one of our clients through the Broadband Lifecycle. I got to step 5, “Promote awareness and adoption” and paused.  Awareness and adoption… good for alliteration, bad for accuracy.  I blame marketing.

What’s critical in step 5 is not merely adoption; it is utilization, making sure that not only are people and organizations connected, but using broadband and e-solutions.  I can give you a car and if it sits in your driveway, you may have adopted the car… but unless you drive it somewhere, it is of no use.

When network operators and service providers talk about broadband adoption, they are talking about how many customers have signed-up for the broadband service. That is fundamental to their business and where they need to focus.

However, just because a business or an organization has a high-speed connection to the Internet does not mean they know how to fully benefit from it. Not only can they get their emails and surf the Web more quickly, but they can access and serve new markets, change their business and operational models by going online, etc. which have the most significant impacts on operations to increase revenues, decrease or avoid costs, make day-to-day operations easier, etc. It’s about the Internet-enabled applications, or as we call them – e-solutions – that drive benefits.

Utilization is the key – being aware of what is possible, what makes sense for that business or organization, and then having the capacity and skills to implement and start using e-solutions.
At SNG, we no longer talk about ‘broadband adoption’ – we talk about broadband utilization because we do not want to confuse a business, organization, or household simply being connected to broadband as compared what they doing with that high-speed connection.

It is necessary to have broadband, but that alone is not sufficient if you want to realize its promised benefits. Impacts are realized from utilization and I’ll expand on that next week with some case examples and hard numbers on new revenues, cost savings, new jobs, etc.

And the next time you see step 5 in SNG’ Broadband Lifecycle, you’ll notice that SNG helps “Promote awareness & drive utilization.”

by Doug Adams

Every year in late January, whether “my guy” is President or not, I sit down to watch the “State of the Union Address.” Typically it is marked by partisan politics and divisiveness, characterized by a laundry list of initiatives – covering everything from domestic issues to foreign affairs.

This year, Americans were told, would be different.  The speech would be about the economy and jobs… and how we’re going to get back on track.  And for the most part – minus a pared down laundry list – that’s what we heard Tuesday night.  And before I am accused of being partisan or an Obama lackey… I voted for the other guy.

So putting politics aside, let’s focus on what we heard about the Internet, Broadband, and what it could… or should mean to our future – be it citizens of the U.S., Europe, Australia, etc. Regardless of where we all fall in the political spectrum – the address resonates with what SNG has been touting – broadband means jobs, broadband means innovation – and it was nice to hear about this on such a big stage.

Tuesday night was not the first time President Obama spoke of the United States reaching another “Sputnik moment,” but it was the most forceful use of the analogy he has used, and to the largest audience.  The President sees the parallel between 2011 and the “Space Race” of the sixties – when the Soviet Union’s innovative satellite challenged the U.S. to get involved or be left behind. Innovation, John F. Kennedy believed, would be the key to America’s prosperity.

Today’s space race, put quite simply, is Broadband connectivity – availability and speed – and utilization of e-solutions.  As President Obama opined, “The world has changed…. The rules have changed…. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an Internet connection.”

While what I am hearing is a bit of a “duh” moment… it really piques my interest when he backs this up saying:  We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.  Okay… so he has my attention… here is a President that realizes it is the 21st century.  He seems to understand that innovation is what made the United States the largest, most powerful economy in the world… and here’s the important part – that the key to innovation, and jobs, and prosperity is Broadband. 

Not groundbreaking… but refreshing, and encouraging.  And backing his words, Obama promises to lead initiatives that result in “research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race,” promising government investment in biomedical research, information technology, and clean energy technology – all of which he sees as creating countless new jobs.

So, no matter what side of the aisle you are on, if you are a proponent of broadband – it is wonderful to have the issue raised on such a big stage – and hopefully further advanced, even beyond initial stimulus funding.

SNG believes – and has proven through work in multiple regions across the globe – that broadband and Internet connectivity does in fact create jobs.  Not necessarily jobs that we can see today – but it provides a platform for innovation and growth.  As President Obama explained Tuesday, we didn’t know that the Internet would create an economic revolution.  We may not know where the jobs of tomorrow will come from – but we know what they will require, a robust, far-reaching Broadband Infrastructure.  Obama wants to encourage innovation because he believes that, “In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living.”

Read the entire address: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/48181.html#ixzz1C9tadI00

By Joanna Taylor

In 2009, the European Commission found that:
Broadband is of strategic importance because of its ability to accelerate the contribution of information and communication technologies to growth and innovation in all sectors of the economy and to social and territorial cohesion. 

Nearly two years and hundreds of million dollars later in US Stimulus funding – not to mention the NBN in Australia –  what have the Europeans been doing?  The answer is establishing stimulus packages which have a European twist.

Back in that same year of 2009, realizing that communication providers were not going to be able to fund broadband networks that would reach all 495 million inhabitants spread over 27 countries, the European Union Commission placed a little more 1 billion Euros into the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Concurrently, the Commission publicly encouraged member states to support broadband developments as a key enabler for economic growth and rural sustainability.

Here is where the catch comes… there is always a catch, right?  The Commission also had (and continues to have) a keen interest in seeing market competition as a force to maximize the economic welfare of its citizens. The question the Commission wrestles with  is whether subsidies made to one player in a market are likely to have a negative  effect on competition for the provision of services in that market, which would be to the detriment of those same citizens.

The conundrum was clear.

The solution lay in a series of guidelines under the snappy title of “Community Guidelines for the application of State aid rules in relation to rapid deployment of broadband networks.”  These set out a series of criteria that any publicly supported roll out of broadband, that is any stimulus package, must meet before public funds can be used.

The guidelines require the member state of the European Union to demonstrate that:

(a) the use of public funds will result in a higher level of broadband coverage and penetration, or at a faster rate, than would occur without that aid, and
(b) that the positive effects of this aid outweigh its negative effects in terms of distortion of competition

In January 2011 the Commission announced that it has approved a record amount of public aid for broadband development in, among others areas, Catalonia, Finland and Bavaria. This involved the use of over €1.8 billion of public funds for broadband development to support economic recovery, inclusive growth and the long term competitiveness of the EU and will potentially generate up to €3.5 billion of investments in the sector. Of those projects Germany accounted for 6, Italy 4, the UK, 3, Spain 3, while Sweden, Finland, Austria and Estonia each had one.

Approved State aid for broadband per year in the EU

Commission Vice-President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia commented: “Smart investments into high and very high speed broadband infrastructures are crucial to create jobs, increase economic performance and to unlock the competitive potential of the EU in the long term. The Commission is committed to help EU countries to accelerate private and public investments in this sector.”

So – in a rather different manner – Europeans get their own version of broadband stimulus.

By Michael Curri

A few weeks ago I was on a phone call discussing broadband adoption and it struck me how ‘adoption’ meant two different things between the client and myself. I was taking one of our clients through the Broadband Lifecycle. I got to step 5, “Promote awareness and adoption” and paused.  Awareness and adoption… good for alliteration, bad for accuracy.  I blame marketing.

What’s critical in step 5 is not merely adoption; it is utilization, making sure that not only are people and organizations connected, but using broadband and e-solutions.  I can give you a car and if it sits in your driveway, you may have adopted the car… but unless you drive it somewhere, it is of no use.

When network operators and service providers talk about broadband adoption, they are talking about how many customers have signed-up for the broadband service. That is fundamental to their business and where they need to focus.

However, just because a business or an organization has a high-speed connection to the Internet does not mean they know how to fully benefit from it. Not only can they get their emails and surf the Web more quickly, but they can access and serve new markets, change their business and operational models by going online, etc. which have the most significant impacts on operations to increase revenues, decrease or avoid costs, make day-to-day operations easier, etc. It’s about the Internet-enabled applications, or as we call them – e-solutions – that drive benefits.

Utilization is the key – being aware of what is possible, what makes sense for that business or organization, and then having the capacity and skills to implement and start using e-solutions.
At SNG, we no longer talk about ‘broadband adoption’ – we talk about broadband utilization because we do not want to confuse a business, organization, or household simply being connected to broadband as compared what they doing with that high-speed connection.

It is necessary to have broadband, but that alone is not sufficient if you want to realize its promised benefits. Impacts are realized from utilization and I’ll expand on that next week with some case examples and hard numbers on new revenues, cost savings, new jobs, etc.

And the next time you see step 5 in SNG’ Broadband Lifecycle, you’ll notice that SNG helps “Promote awareness & drive utilization.”

    

Ghosts of Broadband Past, Present & Future    

Greetings – I hope your Holiday Season is going well.

As we bring 2010 to a close and usher in 2011, we look back to what a significant year 2010 was for our industry.  This past year the United States and Australia both recognized broadband needs to be a cornerstone to their economic future, as they invested heavily in proposed projects. Next year, the rubber will meet the road as strategies to best implement projects will be critical for global competitiveness in the foreseeable future.

SNG is thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to partner with regions as they travel along the Broadband Lifecycle. Just recently, our work with North Carolina revealed just how significant broadband is in driving opportunities and job growth. We look forward to partnering with more States and regions across the globe in 2011 to help ensure they get the most from their broadband investment.  One of the ways we do this is by mapping demand and helping to drive e-solution utilization.

In 2010 we introduced the Digital Economy Index to reveal a broadband score and opportunities to drive efficiencies through e-solution use. Beyond the DEi’s abililty to measure individual organizations, DEi can also be used in any industry, sectoral, or geographic region.  As our services continue to grow in 2011, look for an announcement early in the year for our business intelligence database of projects from across the globe – Digital Impact Intelligence to show how your project stacks up… and where opportunities lie for greater economic and social impact.

This year also marked a new, updated website for SNG (The Broadband Economists) along with a blog and monthly newsletter.  The feedback we’ve received has been extremely positive and we thank you for subscribing to Bandwidth. We publish monthly to help you keep up with issues and best practices so that your project – no matter where it is on the Broadband Lifecycle – will experience success.  What is success? Well it starts with utilization of broadband and e-solutions – driving significant (and measurable) economic and social impacts.

So we wish you all the best in 2011 – and want to remind you that we are here to help ensure success along the Broadband Lifecycle. May you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year. 

In Case You Missed it…   

A few articles from 2010 we want to make sure you have seen. 

What Exactly Are We Stimulating?  

 
…broadband is the platform for innovation, competiveness and progress in the 21st century. Without this as a foundation, modern societies cannot compete in terms of economic opportunities – or quality of life.  Investing in broadband is a great thing – it creates jobs and opportunities… But beyond our “gut feeling” and pointing to other areas of the world where broadband has meant the difference between stagnation and prosperity – how do we really know how effective stimulus is… and will be?
Read More >>

A Fresh Look at the Digital Divide 

A lot of funding is being invested in broadband infrastructure, which will bring high speed connectivity to many communities and regions around the world who previously did not have high speed access. As the number of communities without access to broadband declines, there will be room, both politically and financially, for other priorities. Within the context of the digital divide, what priorities need to be articulated and placed on the political and policy map?

For example, as planning and mapping efforts unfold across the United States, including our own SNG projects in North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, and Kentucky, more and more evidence is emerging of a shifting picture that is more complex than just “un-served” “under-served” and “served” as defined in the United States by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. These relatively broad categories have played their role, but need to evolve if they are going to be useful for future planning efforts based on evidence that we have recently collected.
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Australia’s NBN Poised to Transform Down Under    

It took several weeks to sort out, but Australia’s hung parliament emerged with the Labor party still in power – and the National Broadband Network (NBN) very much alive and well.  As a refresher, the proposed plan by the Labor party for a $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) will provide 100 megabits per second broadband access to approximately 93 percent of the Australian premises.  Currently around 62 percent of households have broadband now and – for the most part – it is slow and expensive. In conjunction, the plan calls for a boost in broadband investment for businesses with hopes that it will directly support economic growth during the rollout?
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How to Invest Wisely: 4 Key Guidelines       

Now that you have funding, how can you make sure that your project lives up to the promise that got it funded in the first place? Hundreds of broadband projects are being funded in 2010 – be it from Stimulus or some other funding source – but how many will truly become a community asset that drives economic and social benefits?

Key to making sure your project will have a return on investment with quantifiable outcomes starts with these four guidelines:

  1. Don’t focus on Engineering; it is all about awareness and utilization;
  2. Use data to drive decisions before, during, and after the project;
  3. Create a “platform for innovation”: investing in broadband is NOT just about the financials;
  4. Frame the benefits, measure them, and promote.

Read More >>