APT-CWA Briefing on ConnectKentucky 

U.S. Capitol
April 23, 2007

Overview

The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) jointly sponsored a briefing for Senate and House staff on Tuesday, April 23, 2007. The purpose of the briefing was to raise awareness of the need for a national policy that will stimulate universal deployment and adoption of high speed telecommunication networks and services.  ConnectKentucky was featured as an extraordinarily successful model for achieving that goal.

Summary

David Lazarus, Legislative Aide to Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) began the briefing by introducing Kenneth Peres, Ph.D., APT President and Research Economist at the Communications Workers of America and Mark McElroy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Communications and Operations at ConnectKentucky. [See Dr. McElroy's slide presentation]

Dr. Peres set the framework for the program by explaining that APT's recent report Achieving Universal Broadband and CWA's SpeedMatters report both point to the same conclusion: that broadband networks and services are needed for life-enhancing applications in areas such as telemedicine, independent living and worker training; and our current policies are not working well enough. There are significant gaps in broadband access, and we need a national broadband policy. Therefore, APT and CWA have joined together in an Advanced Universal Service Campaign to promote ubiquitous access to broadband networks and services.

In terms of speed "we pay more for less" Dr. Peres said and "America invests less in terms of our GDP." He pointed to the significant gap between those who have access in terms of income, geography and race, blaming them on the lack of a national broadband policy. What's needed are specific goals, accurate assessments of broadband coverage and specific policies to achieve those goals. Dr. Peres noted that 80% of Japanese households have access to high-speed Internet thanks to a national broadband policy. With proper assessments and mapping, the U. S. can get there. Dr. Peres then added, "How do we develop policies if we do not know where the gaps are? The first thing we need to do is determine who has access and who does not."

Dr. Mark McElroy is deeply invested in ConnectKentucky's mission because of the positive impact broadband has had on his life.  "Good communications is a form of self-disclosure," he began, describing himself as the "poster child" for ConnectKentucky. He was born, raised and schooled in Kentucky, yet had to leave the state for a job opportunity in Georgia.  With access to high-speed broadband connections, Dr. McElroy returned to Warren County, Kentucky where he is now able to conduct his business and manage the family farm.

ConnectKentucky's "Prescription for Innovation," was launched in 2004. It is a state-wide, comprehensive program with four main goals:

• Full broadband deployment by 2007;
• Improved use of computers and the Internet;
• Creation of a meaningful online presence for every local community; and
• Formation of e-community leaders.

ConnectKentucky handles the supply side and demand creation of broadband simultaneously and comprehensively across the state. The supply focus gives providers information on how to get their product to the market. Partnering with community providers, ConnectKentucky created a broadband service map with deployment data. "Through this map we are able to identify the gaps," Dr. McElroy said.

By measuring the gaps, ConnectKentucky is able to focus its energies on developing the underserved areas, while the providers are pleased because it shows where they should deploy their services. BellSouth, for example, accelerated their original deployment schedule by two to three times because of the market intelligence they received. When ConnectKentucky began their work, 60% of Kentucky residents had access to broadband; now 92 or 93% of Kentuckians have coverage.

Through its process of data – driven research to identify problems, design programs to address them and then measure results, ConnectKentucky was also able to address barriers to broadband adoption: typically the lack of a home computer or lack of knowledge about the Internet. As a result, ConnectKentucky developed the "No Child Left Offline" program, which donates computers, printers and software to families of 8th graders.  This program brings students as well as their parents and siblings online.

The demand creation side of ConnectKentucky is led by the e-leadership team. In each county, ConnectKentucky has established an e-community leadership team comprised of nine sectors, such as health care, schools, libraries, etc. As a team, they go through a gap analysis and ConnectKentucky helps identify where their specific sector stands in the technological arena. ConnectKentucky then leads them through a best practices visioning process to identify where they would like to be technologically in two years. Finally, a ConnectKentucky team returns and shows each sector how to reach their goals. Each county and each sector in Kentucky has their own unique plan on how to reach their broadband goals. Facilitating at the local level in a visioning process is critical because "solutions are as local as the problem," said Dr. McElroy.

Dr. McElroy concluded by saying that in their most recent data, the FCC ranks Kentucky #1 in technology growth rate.

Like CWA, ConnectKentucky will support legislation that would encourage the use of Kentucky's broadband model. They want legislation that would provide solutions to broadband deployment and increase adoption with public-private partnerships.

Q&A

Q: "How did you get the ball rolling?"
A: Laura Taylor, VP of Research at ConnectKentucky – "It was industry driven. Providers came together to decide to do this for community development. It was not legislative driven, although they have been supportive."

Q: "Funding is always the biggest question. To what extent are you lobbying Congress for support?"
A: Dr. Mark McElroy - "We have had federal, state and private sector grants."

Ms. Laura Taylor said ConnectKentucky is encouraging the spread of access for e-government services. ConnectKentucky wants to ensure that every community has a platform for e-government services. "Our research lets us know what people want broadband for, like renewing their hunting licenses or paying their car tax," said Dr. McElroy.

Conclusion

The briefing was concluded by Dr. Peres who said that ConnectKentucky "is an incredibly successful model that should be adopted. Their assessments, maps and policies for supply and demand and on the community level are intelligent and effective."

Mr. Lazarus said that it is time Congress got involved on this issue to develop a national broadband policy. "We are working on legislation. We would like to have your bosses involved," adding that the bill is "still in the draft stage; there's an opportunity for comment."