Rural Broadband Lag Shows Need for Special Solutions

By Phillip Brown, Director, Government Affairs & Advocacy, Connected Nation

On Thursday, January 13, 2011, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association released a study based on survey results from its member companies, which include “over 570 small and rural telephone cooperatives and commercial companies.” In its study, NTCA reports that 100% of its respondents reported offering broadband services, but that only 55% of customers have adopted broadband (which is an increase from a reported 38% adoption rate in a similar study by NTCA last year).

This study helps confirms research done by us here at Connected Nation. Our most recent consumer survey (conducted in 12 states and Puerto Rico with a sample size of 15,647 adults) of U.S. households shows a broadband adoption rate in rural America of only 54%, which is 11 percentage points below average. Further, according to Connected Nation research, computer ownership in rural America is six percentage points lower than average.

All of these data confirm that, as the public and private sectors partner together at the federal, state, and local levels to ensure all Americans have access to and are using affordable broadband services, rural America faces unique challenges (such as distance and low household density, in addition to socio-economic factors that impact all disadvantaged demographic groups) that require specialized attention and solutions.

Connected Nation Presenting at the Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute’s Summit

Phillip Brown, Connected Nation’s Director of Government Affairs & Advocacy, is in New York City sharing Connected Nation’s experience and best practices to an audience filled with people invested in expanding and promoting broadband. Other participants include representatives of the FCC, the public utility or public service commissions of several U.S. states, broadband providers, and other non-profit organizations working to improve broadband in the U.S.

On Wednesday, January 5, Brown participated in a panel called, “New Rules of the Road: What the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules Mean for Policymakers, Service Providers, and Consumers,” as part of the Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute’s ADVANCEDCOMM SUMMIT 2011.

The panel covered how these new rules could impact service providers, state policymakers, and consumers.

On Thursday, January 6, Brown spoke as part of a panel on the “Broadband Adoption Status Report: State & Federal Issues,” where panelists, who included Blair Levin of the Aspen Institute, a key architect of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, as well as representatives of One Economy, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and Older Adults Technology Services, discussed the progress on broadband adoption efforts throughout the United States. In addition, the discussion covered initiatives to sustain those efforts.

The Summit continues through Friday, January 7.

To learn more about how Connected Nation is participating in broadband adoption efforts, please visit our state programs webpage, http://www.connectednation.org/state_programs/. Here you will find links to all of our state-based broadband mapping and planning programs and you can explore what we are doing on this front and what we have planned for the future

Connected Nation to present at 'The Broadband Expo'

Three-day event in Dallas will focus on expanding, promoting high-speed wireless Internet

In November, Oxford Expositions will host, “The Broadband Expo,” which will focus on expanding and promoting wireless high-speed Internet in rural America.

The expo and tradeshow will be held in Dallas at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center on November 1-3, 2010. The event will provide in-depth educational sessions and showcase products and services for those who want to learn about new technologies and systems to cost-effectively deliver broadband services to areas that are still not served or those that are under-served

Connected Nation’s Phillip Brown, director of Government Affairs & Advocacy, and Chip Spann, director of Engineering & Technical Services, will present at the three-day event. Specifically, Brown will be part of the panel, "Getting Your Community Ready and Started with Rural Broadband," from 3 to 4 p.m. CST on Monday, Nov 1. Spann will participate in the panel, "The In’s and Out’s of Broadband Mapping," from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m CST on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

To learn more about the event, visit www.thebroadbandexpo.com