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From One Community to a Smart Region, Part 1

From Scott Rourke: “We at OneCommunity have been at it for about nine years.  Starting with a volunteer label and some in-kind donations, our non-profit broadband network and programs to promote adoption have grown to more than $100MM in assets, with millions of annual recurring revenue to ensure our long-term sustainability.  We cover a service territory consisting of 5 million people with a GDP of 170 billion USD.  Our unique open-network strategy, in which we share our digital super highway with phone and cable companies, is also beginning to provide resources to sustain our ambitious programs aimed at accelerating the use of IT to benefit society.  In fact, if you visit Cleveland, Ohio, there’s a good chance you’ll use our free WiFi at the airport or that your iPad or iPhone will be powered by us (and our partners).”

This is for Everyone: The Case for Universal Digitisation

Written with the well-known cross-sector charity Go ON UK, this report presents the socioeconomic case for universal digitisation, particularly in the United Kingdom. Based on quantitative research, it highlights the socioeconomic case for improving the digital infrastructure and promoting usage. We realise the benefits of the internet – including the economic, social, and community benefits – only when everyone is online.

Strategic Networks Group: “e-NC Strategy Report”

e-NC and SNG announced the findings of a comprehensive study of residents and businesses in the state of North Carolina.  In all, 30,000 households and 70,000 businesses and organizations were surveyed to uncover utilization of broadband and e-solutions statewide, with 1,492 households and 6,266 businesses and organizations responding. The e-Solutions Benchmarking and accompanying e-Strategy report from SNG was funded by a grant to the e-North Carolina Authority by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce

Smart Infrastructure in New England: An investment for growth & prosperity

In an era when everything is always moving — when people, products, services, information, and capital have to get from one place  to another within a region or around the world — infrastructure is the enabler. In the 21st century, infrastructure is about connectivity. Bringing together the leading assets and capabilities, in the most efficient way, is the driving strategy that makes an infrastructure “smart” — that makes an infrastructure the accelerator of economic growth and prosperity.

Moving the Needle Forward on Broadband and Economic Development

August and September, in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Craig Settles conducted a national survey of IEDC members and others affiliated with IEDC. The primary goal was to get a snapshot of how broadband impacts local economic outcomes. A secondary goal was to gather some insights to leveraging broadband as an economic development asset.

The Killer App: Economic Development and Job Creation

By Jim Baller

Economic development has been the “killer app” of community broadband, particularly fiber-to-the-home projects, during the last fifteen years. What’s more, economic development is likely to become an even more powerful driver of community broadband in the years ahead, as our knowledge of the relationship between high-capacity broadband connectivity and economic development continues to grow and mature, and as the lessons learned from the federal broadband stimulus program, Google fiber, Gig.U, and other gigabit initiatives work their way across the nation. This paper examines what we know about the relationship between broadband and economic development today, what we are likely to learn in the months and years ahead, and what this means for our communities and our nation.

Eliminating the Waiting Game and Driving Network Uptake

By Doug Adams & Michael Curri, Strategic Networks Group

In working across the globe and working with multiple carriers deploying new, more robust broadband networks, Strategic Networks Group (SNG) consistently comes up against the notion that once the network is built, adoption will naturally follow. “Build it and they will come” is a school of thought that expresses the great hope that potential subscribers will naturally adopt, however this notion goes against what we have always known about technology adoption.

Let’s Make a Deal: Price Sensitivity and Optimal Subsidies

This study uses a rich dataset collected by Connected Nation in 2011 through Random Digit Dial (RDD) telephone interviews with 15,082 adult heads of households who do not subscribe to home broadband service across a heterogeneous selection of states. This survey research aims to better understand demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of non-adopters and assess key barriers to broadband adoption.

US-Ignite – What’s the Opportunity for Communities, Network Providers, and Developers?

With the June launch of its US Ignite initiative, the White House has taken a bold step to stimulate creation of a new wave of services and applications that leverage advanced broadband networks running up to 100 times faster than today’s Internet. A new public-private partnership with almost 100 partners to date, US Ignite will build on the National Science Foundation’s GENI network to interconnect communities with advanced fiber networks to facilitate sharing of knowledge, experiences, and applications across multiple disciplines. The program is poised to match developers of advanced medical, public safety, energy, and other bandwidth-rich applications in these communities with experts who can help accelerate the development and commercialization of these applications.