Broadband in Delaware
Opportunities and Challenges for
Economic Development
Troy Mix, AICP
Assistant Policy Scientist
20th Annual Delaware Institute for Local Government Leaders
Rehoboth Beach Convention Center
October 30, 2008
Institute for Public Administration ◊ University of Delaware
Broadband Glossary of Terms
¾ Bandwidth
¾ XML
¾ Wi-Fi
¾ Cookies
¾ MBPS
¾ WiMax
¾ DSL
¾ really going to
¾ BPL
¾ 3G
¾ ISP
¾ Fiber Optic
¾ VOIP
¾ HTTP
¾ these terms,
¾ He’s not
¾ FTP
¾ Hotspots
¾ URL
¾ talk about all
¾ MP3
¾ VDSL
¾ IP
¾ is he?
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What’s so “New”
About the New Economy?
¾ Need 1: New Skills
¾ Need 2: New Infrastructure
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The Game Plan
I. Broadband: Starting
Point and Definitions
II. Pop Quiz #1
III. Rural Broadband
Issues and
Opportunities
IV. Pop Quiz #2
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What Is Broadband?
¾ Broadband Is…
¾ Fast and Feature Rich
¾
According to FCC, a speed of at
least 200 kilobytes per second is
necessary to be called “Broadband”
¾ Multi-Platform
¾
¾
¾
¾
¾
DSL
Cable
Wireless
Fiber
BPL
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Why Talk About Broadband
in Delaware?
2007 State New Economy Index
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Broadband Has Been Supersized…
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Starting a Broadband Conversation
Sussex Broadband Project
¾ Research Broadband Issues and Initiatives
¾ Map Wi-Fi Hotspots in Sussex
¾ Assess Municipal Broadband Use
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Broadband Quiz: Part 1
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Question 1. Where Do You Live?
A. Sussex County
B. Kent County
C. New Castle County
D. Other
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Question 2. Are You a Regular?
A. 1
Including today, how
many DILGLs have
you attended?
B. 2 - 4
C. 5 - 9
D. More than 10
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Question 3. Internet for Your Home
A. Dialup
B. DSL
At your home, how do you
connect to the Internet?
C. Cable
D. Wireless
E. Fiber/T1
F. No Connection
G. Don’t Know
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Question 4. Internet for Your
Municipal Government
A. Dialup
B. DSL
How does the organization
you represent connect to
the Internet?
C. Cable
D. Wireless
E. Fiber/T1
F. No Connection
G. Don’t Know
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Question 5. Rural Broadband
A. 20%
What percent of rural
households nationwide
B. 40%
would you guess have a
Broadband Internet
C. 60%
connection in their home?
D. 80%
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Question 6. Suburban Broadband
What percent of suburban
households nationwide
would you guess have a
Broadband Internet
connection in their home?
A. 20%
B. 40%
C. 60%
D. 80%
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Rural Broadband: Issues and Opportunities
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Rural Development Issues
¾ Rural Economic Obstacles
¾ Distance
¾ Lack of economies of scale
(Market Size)
¾ Perceived lack of dynamism
¾ Persistent Rural Problems
¾
¾
¾
¾
Out migration of youth
Lack of high-paying jobs
Poverty
Less access to health care
and educational options
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How is Broadband Faring in Rural Areas?
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Why Less Broadband Use in Rural Areas?
The “Last-Mile” problem
¾ Low Population Density = Disincentive to Invest
But it’s not all about infrastructure…
¾ Low adoption rates in workplace leads to…
¾ Lack of direct personal contact…leads to…
¾ Less demand for Broadband
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Status of Broadband in Delaware
¾ An Unclear Picture
¾ Generally, coverage is good due to cable and telephone
company service
¾ Some areas underserved
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Broadband Applications
¾ Business
¾ Telecommuting
¾ Telemedicine
¾ Distance Learning
¾ E-government
¾ Public Safety
¾ Tourism
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Municipal Applications
¾ Public Safety
¾ Serve Information
to the Public
¾ Communicate with “In
the Field” Employees
¾ “Meter Reading”
¾ GPS Applications
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Tourism
¾ 56% of leisure travelers and 76% of business
travelers bring their laptops when traveling
¾ Ocean City, MD
created a Wi-Fi
network
¾ Free Wi-Fi area
¾ Public safety
applications
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Business Applications
¾ Money
¾ Efficiency
¾ Edge
¾ Loyalty
Source: www.connectingcommunities.info
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Broadband Initiatives: Demand Aggregation
¾ Features of Demand Aggregation
¾ Inventory existing Broadband services
¾ Educate businesses and consumers on
broadband utility
¾ Build demand for Broadband around specific
“killer apps”
¾ Demonstrate demand for enhanced Broadband
services to providers
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Broadband Initiatives: Cooperatives
¾ Public-private partnerships (P3s)
fund, build, and operate
infrastructure
¾ Cooperative members provide
“Last Mile” services
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Broadband Initiatives: Community Networks
¾ Wireless Communities
Georgia
¾ Has funded wireless networks
for economic development,
educational access, and
government services
¾ Funded towns range
significantly in population
¾ Key features of successful
networks
¾ Anchor-tenant agreements
¾ Municipal uses of network
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Broadband Quiz: Part 2
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Question 7. Broadband and
Economic Development
The provision of Broadband Infrastructure
and Service is critical for a region’s
economic development?
A. Strongly Disagree
B. Disagree
C. Neither Agree, Nor Disagree
D. Agree
E. Strongly Agree
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Question 8. National Government
Broadband Role
The U.S. government should play a larger
role in promoting enhanced Broadband
services and infrastructure?
A. Strongly Disagree
B. Disagree
C. Neither Agree, Nor Disagree
D. Agree
E. Strongly Agree
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Question 9. State Government
Broadband Role
State governments should play a larger role
in promoting enhanced Broadband services
and infrastructure?
A. Strongly Disagree
B. Disagree
C. Neither Agree, Nor Disagree
D. Agree
E. Strongly Agree
Institute for Public Administration ◊ University of Delaware
Question 10. Local Government
Broadband Role
Local governments should play a larger
role in promoting enhanced Broadband
services and infrastructure?
A. Strongly Disagree
B. Disagree
C. Neither Agree, Nor Disagree
D. Agree
E. Strongly Agree
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Question 11:
What are Your Preferred Approaches?
In order of preference, rank these approaches for
enhancing Broadband in your locality…
A. Do Nothing: Telecom companies will do it.
B. Aggregate Demand: Inventory services; educate on
usefulness; encourage providers to enhance offerings
C. Form a Cooperative: P3s build infrastructure; members
provide “Last-Mile” services
D. Create Local Networks: P3s create local Broadband
networks; governments and residents can use service
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Thank You For Your Attention!
For more information contact:
Troy Mix
Institute for Public Administration
University of Delaware
302-831-4926
mix@udel.edu
Institute for Public Administration ◊ University of Delaware