Broadband Changed My Life Series:
Linking Rural Broadband Deployment with Economic and Community Development
October 17, 2007
On October 17, the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) joined with the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) host a brown bag lunch on the impact of broadband for rural economic development. The event was well attended, with representatives from government, business, and the non-profit sector.
Matt Chase, Executive Director of NADO and a member of the APT Board of Directors introduced the program, which focused on the Cumberland Plateau Company’s efforts to provide four counties in rural southwestern Virginia with a fiber network. Chase described how area leaders, organized through a regional planning district, came to “recognize that for the economic future of their region they needed broadband access.”
Joy Howell, APT’s Broadband Changed My Life Campaign Director, opened the discussion with personal examples of how broadband is transforming every aspect of people’s lives, particularly in rural areas.
Andy Chaffin, Executive Director of the Cumberland Plateau Planning District, and Larry Carr, Executive Director of the Cumberland Plateau Company, described the efforts made to provide fiber to a rural corner of Virginia. In 2003 the planning district conducted an economic assessment of their community. They had recently completed several economic development projects, including an industrial park for high tech businesses and realized that without broadband these projects would not have the desired impact. Chaffin reasoned that “the world’s changing, and we’re on the wrong side of the digital divide. We’re going to fall behind unless we figure out a way to get our four counties connected to the rest of the world.” See the Cumberland Plateau Company's Slide Presentation
A broadband solution could not be found in the private sector because of the high costs involved in building high speed connections to rural communities. As a result, the Cumberland Plateau Company (CPC), a non-profit development company affiliated with the planning district, took up the task. The CPC had several advantages, most notably a strong local connection and a history of providing infrastructure improvements to the area, that gave them the confidence to build a fiber network.
With funding support from the Economic Development Administration and the Virginia Tobacco Commission, the CPC project began laying fiber to business and public institutions like schools, libraries, and hospitals. The construction of this network has been a boon to economic development in the area. According to Chaffin, “Our mission was always to create jobs, diversify our economy.” Two major corporations are now moving into the community because of the fiber network, creating 800 new jobs with average salaries more than double the area’s median income. Growth is occurring in other sectors as well, including residential and commercial growth to accommodate the new jobs. As Carr said, “one thing leads to another once you get fiber in.”
There are now plans underway to expand the Fiber to the User (FTTU) network into residences, which would place the Cumberland Plateau community ahead of many urban areas in terms of broadband access. Supplemental programs are also being developed to ensure that the population benefits fully from the available broadband, including technology training classes offered through area community colleges. This strong and comprehensive approach provides an excellent example of how rural communities can effectively provide advanced telecommunications services and spur economic development.
The discussion following the presentation included remarks from Mark McElroy, Vice President of Communications and Operations for Connect Kentucky. McElroy highlighted Kentucky’s successful public-private partnership approach that has dramatically improved broadband access throughout the state with 95% of Kentucky’s households now connected. Their example can provide a model for other rural states in expanding critical broadband infrastructure, he said.
A key point, voiced by McElroy and the Cumberland Plateau representatives, was that every community has unique broadband access challenges. Therefore, as McElroy said, “a national solution happens by enabling local response.” Whether that response is the proactive approach of the Cumberland Plateau or the statewide efforts of Connect Kentucky, national policies that support local solutions are essential for improving rural broadband access and reviving rural economies.
Resources:
Cumberland Plateau Company Slide Presentation
