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.
Read More >>
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?
Read More >>
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:
- Don’t focus on Engineering; it is all about awareness and utilization;
- Use data to drive decisions before, during, and after the project;
- Create a “platform for innovation”: investing in broadband is NOT just about the financials;
- Frame the benefits, measure them, and promote.
Read More >>
Broadband 101: Utilization Drives Impact
Earlier this month Derek Murphy, SNG’s VP of Project Delivery, and I attended the Rural TeleCon Conference in Arizona – put on by the Rural Telecommunications Congress (RTC). The RTC describes itself as a “national membership organization dedicated to assuring that rural areas in the United States have access to the information and support they need to obtain and use advanced telecommunications services and technology for social and economic development.”
Leaders of regional broadband initiatives from across the United States gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face in 2011 and beyond. Representatives from approximately 25 states expressed that while their opportunities (driven in large part by broadband stimulus) are significant – the challenges accompanying them seemed to be overwhelming to most. A key discussion topic at the conference was around looking for ways to leverage broadband for regional development.
From my perspective, there was a sea-change in the broadband discussion because of this focus on regional development. Beyond the “supply-side” of broadband, people started taking a serious look at the “demand-side” of the broadband equation. It’s the utilization that drives impact and benefits.
Hilda Legg, a former RUS administrator, noted in her keynote that it is imperative to the success of broadband initiatives is moving away from “business as usual” where telcos drive infrastructure build-out according to population and instead look to where utilization and accompanying impacts are the most significant.
So how do you overcome this? How do you help to ensure that your hefty investment has an even “heftier” impact? Step one? “Identify needs, gaps, and demand.” Much of the broadband stimulus allocation was based on “gaps” and “needs” – areas that are under or un-served. But this does not ensure use – unlike “Field of Dreams,” building broadband does not ensure people will come.
Instead of building a baseball field in a cornfield, make sure that you map demand – benchmark utilization of e-solutions throughout your region to uncover where the deepest and most long-lasting impacts will occur.
This exercise will not only help you know areas most likely to adopt broadband, it has the added benefit of driving awareness among businesses, organizations, and households. So what? Well this helps to drive adoption, application development, and ultimately the economic and social impacts of the network.
Washington’s State’s Broadband Policy and Programs Manager Angela Wu summed it up best: “Don’t just map supply, map demand too!”
SNG’s Michael Curri Appointed to RTC Board
At the annual conference, SNG president Michael Curri was appointed to the Rural Telecommunications Congress Board.
“We’re thrilled to be part of the RTC as we’re extremely excited about the direction the organization is moving,” says Curri. “SNG looks forward to helping organizations understand how to map demand to leverage broadband investments for maximum impact.”
Collaboration Means Cost Savings for You!
Identifying demand is just the first step to ensuring success along the Broadband Lifecycle.
As you move to planning and strategy (steps 2 and 3), benchmarking utilization of broadband and e-solutions uncovers synergies and potential partnerships to share in e-solutions investments. This can be among government entities, organizations, or industries with shared goals and interests. The key is that drivers for change be identified and quantified in terms of impacts and benefits that each stakeholder group can expect by committing to a collaborative project.In the US, there is a unusual paradigm many regions face as they receive heavy investment in the form of broadband stimulus – while at the same time are seeing their operating budgets slashed and pressure to reduce staff.
States investing in broadband can have an even greater impact by finding areas where collaboration amongst different stakeholders on innovative uses of broadband applications makes sense.
A widespread broadband deployment offers a chance for every organization to examine how they currently deliver services. Broadband offers the opportunity to improve service, extend reach, and increase the scale and scope of efficiencies – all critical in today’s fast-paced (and budget cutting) world.
SNG Facts: SNG’s 2010 survey of County and Municipal governments in the State of North Carolina reveals that 75% of county and municipal governments view the opportunity to reduce costs and increase efficiencies as a very important motivation for adopting e-solutions, while 56% see this as an opportunity to undertake collaborative initiatives with other organizations. However, only 19% are currently collaborating with other organizations on the provision of shared services with another 12% actively considering such collaboration.
The current economic downturn and the severe budget reductions that governments at all levels are facing is a ‘burning platform’ and an opportunity for breaking down existing silos and changing cultures towards sharing infrastructure and services. With responsible spending and efficiencies a front and center concern, now is the time to change how services are delivered. SNG’s e-Solutions Benchmarking can help you identify where the opportunities for collaboration are – and where the most immediate and significant impacts lie. Without clear insights, trying to drive collaboration is a little like trying to boil the ocean… theoretically possible, but practically unachievable.
How do you communicate “sharing” broadband infrastructure with potential partners and citizens? Start by asking – does it make sense that each airline have their own airport? An American Airlines airport, a Continental airport, etc. would all be required had the airlines not agreed long ago that sharing infrastructure – even with their competitors – was the most efficient way to leverage infrastructure and deliver quality service.
SNG’s experience has consistently pointed to and developed strategies for collaboration with quantifiable benefits that double the investment. And as our recent study in North Carolina shows, citizens are poised for collaboration, efficiencies, and change. This is the time – how will you capture the opportunities for your region?
Making a “New” Old Brooklyn
by Jim Nice
Northeast Ohio continues to be recognized globally as a model of regional broadband implementation as the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) once again tabbed it as one of their 21 global “smart communities.”Part of the ongoing efforts in the Cleveland area to separate the region from competitors includes the Northeast Ohio Broadband Coalition (NEOBC). This organization is bringing together stakeholders and vendors involved in both access technologies/hardware with those that develop content and applications to revitalize a West side neighborhood of Cleveland called Old Brooklyn.
Cleveland Councilman Kevin Kelly parlayed a number of financial resources and spearheaded by the local community development corporation, the Old Brooklyn neighborhood is in the early stages of deploying a wireless broadband infrastructure. His vision is a neighborhood that will attract and retain business while utilizing the Internet to enhance the attractiveness of the community and its workforce – while at the same time serving as a model for other Cleveland neighborhoods.
Key success factors for the model Old Brooklyn used include:
- Community Engagement: forming “communities of interest” around major broadband application areas to align expectations, resources and applications – education, health care, economic development, seniors, arts & culture, public safety, the underserved, utility usage.
- Application Development: assembling a team of individuals and companies to work on developing and discovering applications, content, services & products to deploy on the network. In addition a local support team will anchor a storefront in Old Brooklyn, as the first occupant of a business incubator.
- Communications: working with OBCDC to integrate the network – and its new tool set – into their communication strategies both internal to the neighborhood and externally to other constituencies. Expanding the news function of neighborhood publication “Old Brooklyn News” into a “community information portal.”
- Training: developing effective “digital literacy” programs that target local citizens and organizations. Adoption and usage of the network – driven by worthwhile applications – is the only way that its true benefits can be realized.
A holistic approach that embraces collaboration is a fundamental platform for success. A coalition representatives of every aspect of citizenry is involved in Old Brooklyn’s course of action – from residents to organizations, companies and associations sure to be impacted by access to a ubiquitous broadband network. This includes education, health care, senior citizens, public safety, utilities, community groups, economic development professionals and more. By focusing on stakeholder needs, Old Brooklyn demonstrates how focusing on awareness and adoption is a model that can be replicated throughout each of the cities and the rest of the region.
As always, thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Earlier this month Derek Murphy, SNG’s VP of Project Delivery, and I attended the Rural TeleCon Conference in Arizona – put on by the Rural Telecommunications Congress (RTC). The RTC describes itself as a “national membership organization dedicated to assuring that rural areas in the United States have access to the information and support they need to obtain and use advanced telecommunications services and technology for social and economic development.”
Leaders of regional broadband initiatives from across the United States gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face in 2011 and beyond. Representatives from approximately 25 states expressed that while their opportunities (driven in large part by broadband stimulus) are significant – the challenges accompanying them seemed to be overwhelming to most. A key discussion topic at the conference was around looking for ways to leverage broadband for regional development.
From my perspective, there was a sea-change in the broadband discussion because of this focus on regional development. Beyond the “supply-side” of broadband, people started taking a serious look at the “demand-side” of the broadband equation. It’s the utilization that drives impact and benefits.
Hilda Legg, a former RUS administrator, noted in her keynote that it is imperative to the success of broadband initiatives is moving away from “business as usual” where telcos drive infrastructure build-out according to population and instead look to where utilization and accompanying impacts are the most significant.
So how do you overcome this? How do you help to ensure that your hefty investment has an even “heftier” impact? Step one? “Identify needs, gaps, and demand.” Much of the broadband stimulus allocation was based on “gaps” and “needs” – areas that are under or un-served. But this does not ensure use – unlike “Field of Dreams,” building broadband does not ensure people will come.
Instead of building a baseball field in a cornfield, make sure that you map demand – benchmark utilization of e-solutions throughout your region to uncover where the deepest and most long-lasting impacts will occur.
This exercise will not only help you know areas most likely to adopt broadband, it has the added benefit of driving awareness among businesses, organizations, and households. So what? Well this helps to drive adoption, application development, and ultimately the economic and social impacts of the network.
Washington’s State’s Broadband Policy and Programs Manager Angela Wu summed it up best: “Don’t just map supply, map demand too!”
SNG’s Michael Curri Appointed to RTC Board
At the annual conference, SNG president Michael Curri was appointed to the Rural Telecommunications Congress Board.
“We’re thrilled to be part of the RTC as we’re extremely excited about the direction the organization is moving,” says Curri. “SNG looks forward to helping organizations understand how to map demand to leverage broadband investments for maximum impact.”
Identifying demand is just the first step to ensuring success along the Broadband Lifecycle.
As you move to planning and strategy (steps 2 and 3), benchmarking utilization of broadband and e-solutions uncovers synergies and potential partnerships to share in e-solutions investments. This can be among government entities, organizations, or industries with shared goals and interests. The key is that drivers for change be identified and quantified in terms of impacts and benefits that each stakeholder group can expect by committing to a collaborative project.
In the US, there is a unusual paradigm many regions face as they receive heavy investment in the form of broadband stimulus – while at the same time are seeing their operating budgets slashed and pressure to reduce staff.
States investing in broadband can have an even greater impact by finding areas where collaboration amongst different stakeholders on innovative uses of broadband applications makes sense.
A widespread broadband deployment offers a chance for every organization to examine how they currently deliver services. Broadband offers the opportunity to improve service, extend reach, and increase the scale and scope of efficiencies – all critical in today’s fast-paced (and budget cutting) world.
SNG Facts: SNG’s 2010 survey of County and Municipal governments in the State of North Carolina reveals that 75% of county and municipal governments view the opportunity to reduce costs and increase efficiencies as a very important motivation for adopting e-solutions, while 56% see this as an opportunity to undertake collaborative initiatives with other organizations. However, only 19% are currently collaborating with other organizations on the provision of shared services with another 12% actively considering such collaboration.
The current economic downturn and the severe budget reductions that governments at all levels are facing is a ‘burning platform’ and an opportunity for breaking down existing silos and changing cultures towards sharing infrastructure and services. With responsible spending and efficiencies a front and center concern, now is the time to change how services are delivered.
SNG’s e-Solutions Benchmarking can help you identify where the opportunities for collaboration are – and where the most immediate and significant impacts lie. Without clear insights, trying to drive collaboration is a little like trying to boil the ocean… theoretically possible, but practically unachievable.
How do you communicate “sharing” broadband infrastructure with potential partners and citizens? Start by asking – does it make sense that each airline have their own airport? An American Airlines airport, a Continental airport, etc. would all be required had the airlines not agreed long ago that sharing infrastructure – even with their competitors – was the most efficient way to leverage infrastructure and deliver quality service.
SNG’s experience has consistently pointed to and developed strategies for collaboration with quantifiable benefits that double the investment. And as our recent study in North Carolina shows, citizens are poised for collaboration, efficiencies, and change. This is the time – how will you capture the opportunities for your region?
by Jim Nice
Northeast Ohio continues to be recognized globally as a model of regional broadband implementation as the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) once again tabbed it as one of their 21 global “smart communities.”
Part of the ongoing efforts in the Cleveland area to separate the region from competitors includes the Northeast Ohio Broadband Coalition (NEOBC). This organization is bringing together stakeholders and vendors involved in both access technologies/hardware with those that develop content and applications to revitalize a West side neighborhood of Cleveland called Old Brooklyn.
Cleveland Councilman Kevin Kelly parlayed a number of financial resources and spearheaded by the local community development corporation, the Old Brooklyn neighborhood is in the early stages of deploying a wireless broadband infrastructure. His vision is a neighborhood that will attract and retain business while utilizing the Internet to enhance the attractiveness of the community and its workforce – while at the same time serving as a model for other Cleveland neighborhoods.
Key success factors for the model Old Brooklyn used include:
- Community Engagement: forming “communities of interest” around major broadband application areas to align expectations, resources and applications – education, health care, economic development, seniors, arts & culture, public safety, the underserved, utility usage.
- Application Development: assembling a team of individuals and companies to work on developing and discovering applications, content, services & products to deploy on the network. In addition a local support team will anchor a storefront in Old Brooklyn, as the first occupant of a business incubator.
- Communications: working with OBCDC to integrate the network – and its new tool set – into their communication strategies both internal to the neighborhood and externally to other constituencies. Expanding the news function of neighborhood publication “Old Brooklyn News” into a “community information portal.”
- Training: developing effective “digital literacy” programs that target local citizens and organizations. Adoption and usage of the network – driven by worthwhile applications – is the only way that its true benefits can be realized.
A holistic approach that embraces collaboration is a fundamental platform for success. A coalition representatives of every aspect of citizenry is involved in Old Brooklyn’s course of action – from residents to organizations, companies and associations sure to be impacted by access to a ubiquitous broadband network. This includes education, health care, senior citizens, public safety, utilities, community groups, economic development professionals and more. By focusing on stakeholder needs, Old Brooklyn demonstrates how focusing on awareness and adoption is a model that can be replicated throughout each of the cities and the rest of the region.
By Art Brodsky
Communications Director, Public Knowledge
Click to Read on The Huffington Post’s Website
After all the shouting has died down, after the House elects its Republican leaders and after the Senate sorts itself out, the reality is that policy in the telecom sector will likely remain where it has been for the past two years — in state of suspended animation. That’s a shame, because the people who can most benefit by some reasonable and common-sense changes may not have the opportunity to do so.
The two issues at the top of the list are Net Neutrality and the wonky-sounding “reclassification” of broadband services. Net Neutrality is the simple concept that those who control the telecommunications networks shouldn’t be able to play favorites with the content that is transmitted over those networks. It’s an old concept, as Prof. Tim Wu pointed out in his book, Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires. The simple, fair idea is that everyone online should have the same ability to make his or her voice or service known to the rest of the world.
President Obama campaigned in part on restoring an Open Internet. Julius Genachowski, his chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hasn’t delivered, and probably won’t. As his pattern of activity has developed, Genachowski has ducked the major issues to which the big telecommunications companies, aided by the congressional Democratic Blue Bells and by all congressional Republicans, have objected. He has the votes of the other two Democratic FCC commissioners, but that’s not enough for him.
As a result, Genachowski has taken the pressure off of Congress to do anything to ensure an Open Internet, in which everyone, not simply the big phone and cable companies, can benefit. (The fact that 95 Democrats who signed a Net Neutrality pledge lost on Tuesday is irrelevant. They would have lost anyway in the GOP landslide.)
As with any issue when the battles are controlled by big companies, it’s the small ones who get overlooked and/or crushed. In a recent blog post, Kevin Warhus, marketing manager for the Scottsdale, Ariz., digital marketing company StringCan Interactive, wrote about the link between a neutral Internet and what he sees as Web 3.0, which seeks to personalize the Web experience for consumers. Warhus is particularly concerned about telecom control over the mobile Web and the effect on small businesses his company helps to support. He wrote:
As we evolve into the age Web 3.0 in which our information, likes and dislikes, and online habits help create a personalized web experience, Net Neutrality stands as an important stepping stone to ensure the proper development of Internet interaction and the protections of our freedoms.”Allowing a handful of powerful corporations to decide what websites and information we should be able to access defeats the purpose of this open source frontier. The Internet has always stood as an environment where anyone can make a website or blog and receive equal opportunities to be heard and to grow. By taking away those rights we are essentially handing over our freedoms and going against the foundational values that make The Internet what it is today and what it may or may not be tomorrow.
Congressional Self-Interest Should Be A Factor
But the larger issue, and the one in which the enlightened self-interest of all members of Congress should kick in, is the reclassification of broadband services. Again, the concept is fairly simple. Until 2005, the FCC had jurisdiction over the telecommunications connection that connected people to the Internet. The Bush-era FCC “reclassified” that service from one with explicit authority to gray areas — without any outside huffing and puffing that it should be a congressional decision that such a thing be done.
Since then, the FCC has deregulated all but the most basic voice-line services and removed any requirements that may help consumers. This shaky structure survived until April 6 this year, when the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC did not have authority over broadband services in the way the agency claimed it did.
After typically dithering around for a couple of months, the Commission proposed a compromise that would allow some regulatory authority but not the full slate of regulations. Typically, the industry and their congressional allies overreacted, starting the meme that the FCC wanted to “regulate the Internet” and that Congress had given the Commission no such authority.
That argument is total nonsense. No one is regulating the Internet. The FCC wants its jurisdiction back over broadband access. Members of Congress, particularly from rural districts, should want the FCC to have that authority. By denying the Commission that jurisdiction, representatives, particularly those from rural areas, are working against the interest of their constituents.
The Universal Service Fund, which provides financial support to rural phone companies, only is directed to help plain old dial-up service. If those members of Congress want their constituents to have the benefit of support for broadband, and to allow their constituents to participate in the broadband economy, then the FCC has to be able to make some changes, switching the support to broadband services. It can’t do that unless it has the authority and jurisdiction.
Big telecom and cable companies and their ideological allies oppose reclassification. Interestingly, however, the Communications Workers of America, which sided with the industry opposing Net Neutrality, signed a letter endorsing reclassification.
If we needed any more evidence of how important broadband is to rural areas, a new study by the Strategic Networks Group for the e-North Carolina authority (e-NC) has some fascinating new statistics that show how crucial broadband is to the economy in general and to job-generating small business in particular. Some of the study’s findings:
• Nearly one in five (18%) of new jobs were created as a direct result of Broadband Internet. Small businesses (less than 20 employees) are especially dependent on Broadband Internet as 28 percent of new jobs in that sector are attributed to using the Internet.
• More than half of all businesses (54%) said that they would not be in business if they did not have broadband while two in five (41%) would have to relocate if broadband was not available in their community;
• The number of households either currently running (31%) or planning to run a business from their home in the next twelve months (14%) is nearly half (45%) of North Carolina’s broadband households;
• Even more broadband households are either now using (41%) or planning to use (24%) broadband to sell items online. That’s nearly two-thirds (65%) of broadband households using it to at least supplement their income;
• Most (85%) of home-based businesses said that broadband was essential to their business.
The study also went into some detail about the problem of pockets of areas generally served with broadband that don’t have it; how areas served with inferior broadband are at a competitive disadvantage, and lots of broadband service is really very slow and unhelpful.
The Authority the FCC Should Cede
Over the past few months, Genachowski has shown a willingness to cede his agency’s authority to Congress. He wouldn’t act on Net Neutrality or reclassification, wishing instead that a last-ditch effort by current House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to negotiate a Net Neutrality bill might come to fruition. It was a gallant effort, but the House Republicans killed it.
Genachowski sat out the blackouts of millions of TV viewers from favorite channels, including the most recent fight between Fox and Cablevision, which blacked out three million people in the New York City area and Philadelphia. He said the FCC doesn’t have the tools to intervene. He declined to take any action on a petition for rulemaking filed by Public Knowledge and others to reform the retrans system, based on the part of the law that gives the FCC authority to “enact regulations as necessary” to carry out the law that gave broadcasters the right to exact payments from cable companies. Instead, he wants Congress to work out the problem.
So far, the one area in which Genachowski has not conceded congressional authority is the one he should — universal service reform. Holding up USF reform until the agency’s authority over broadband is clear will force those members of Congress who care more about their constituents’ welfare than silly Tea Party talking points to take the Commission’s authority seriously. If members of Congress don’t give the FCC the authority it needs, the areas they represent suffer.
We shall wait for Congress to act (or for the FCC to act, for that matter) on these crucial issues as we wait for Godot.
Follow Art Brodsky on Twitter: www.twitter.com/artbrodsky
