Broadband Changed My Life Series:
Spurring Rural Broadband Deployment
October 18, 2007
Continuing its series of Broadband Changed My Life! events, the Alliance for Public Technology hosted an informational panel on October 18th at the Rayburn House Office Building focusing on broadband's economic impact for rural America. The panel consisted of Mark McElroy, Vice President of Communications and Operations for Connect Kentucky, Leroy Watson, Legislative Director for the National Grange, and Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Joy Howell, of APT's Broadband Changed My Life Campaign, served as the moderator.
The program began with an introduction from Howell that highlighted personal stories which have been submitted to APT and illustrate how advanced technologies are literally transforming every aspect of people's lives, particularly in rural areas.
The panel discussion followed with McElroy outlining Connect Kentucky's successful program for accelerating broadband access in his significantly rural state. Connect Kentucky, McElroy explained, uses a public-private partnership model to address both the supply and the demand aspects of broadband deployment. The first step in their success was a statewide effort to work with broadband providers and map gaps in deployment. "If you're going to fill the gaps," McElroy said, "you have to know where they are." He emphasized the importance of an independent organization for collecting data from providers because subscriber information is proprietary.
Aggregating and mapping data on broadband availability helps spur deployment by highlighting opportunities for expanding coverage. In terms of promoting demand for broadband, Connect Kentucky developed e-community leadership teams that bring together community leaders to identify common broadband needs and develop a vision. The teams include representatives from a broad cross section of the community, including businesses, schools, and hospitals, that work together to find a local broadband solution. McElroy believes that empowering local solutions is essential because every community faces different obstacles to broadband access.
The success of Connect Kentucky is apparent. Before the program began, Kentucky was ranked as one of the lowest states for broadband availability. Now 96% of the state has access to broadband, and McElroy predicts that there will be 100% access by the end of the year. This remarkable growth has occurred almost entirely through private investment, which was stimulated by the information gathering and mapping done by Connect Kentucky.
Alford spoke about the importance of broadband for African-American business, especially in rural areas. Explaining that his own office is able to send newsletters to over 100,000 business owners in less than an hour with broadband, his message to affiliates is that "you've got to deal with this new technology if you want to be on the cutting edge." Broadband is especially important for minority businesses because it gives them the opportunity to communicate beyond their local area. Alford gave an example of a business owner who could not receive a loan from a local financial institution and might be able to use broadband to find a willing provider. "It levels the playing field for small disadvantaged business," he said.
Watson focused on broadband's impact for rural agriculture. He said that farmers want the same basic things from broadband as other businesses, mainly improved communication. Enhanced communication is important for improving a farmer's access to indirect support services like health care and equipment suppliers. Broadband also improves the connection between farmers and their customers, allowing farmers to respond directly to demands for specialized products like organic or kosher crops. Soon more advanced broadband uses could also help farmers to receive detailed assessments of crop failures, or guide robotic equipment in response to weather reports.
The importance of broadband for rural community development was also emphasized by Watson. Broadband, he said, could help rural communities reduce their reliance on low skill jobs, which are vulnerable to the forces of globalization. It could also mitigate the traditional cultural and social isolation of rural living.
After the presentations were made a question and answer session focused on what, if any, role existed for federal policy in promoting rural broadband deployment. McElroy said that "the best use of federal resources is to enable a local response." The successful model of Connect Kentucky as a locally focused broadband solution could be encouraged in other states through federal grants. Watson pointed out the potential for existing federal programs to improve rural broadband, especially the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) program run by the Department of Agriculture. There is a wide ranging patchwork of telecommunications providers in rural communities, he pointed out, and with some encouragement at the federal level the broadband deployment process could be streamlined. Watson also suggested that the rules for awarding federal contracts could be changed to encourage high tech businesses in rural areas.
Broadband offers enormous economic benefits for rural communities. This event called attention to those benefits while also offering some creative solutions for improving rural broadband infrastructure. APT hopes that policy makers take notice and include rural communities in a comprehensive national broadband strategy.
