Is the Internet a mixed blessing?

At the e-NC Authority, we speak of the Internet as being transformative because we have witnessed individuals, organizations and communities up-close. We have seen first-hand the transformation that the Internet can create within educational resources, applications and market access. Access to training, the capacity to recruit 21st century industries, global markets for local goods and crafts, extended and reconnected social contacts – the Internet is delivering all of this and more to citizens and businesses all over the globe. So the Internet must be a good thing, right?

Well once in a while, articles come along that stop us abruptly in our full-steam-ahead cheerleading for this technology and cause us to ponder otherwise. The most recent issue of the journal Atlantic (July-August 2008) is labeled “The Ideas Issue” as its focus is on ideas that are changing the way we live and work. The cover graphic poses the question “Is Google Making Us Stoopid? What the Internet is doing to Our Brains,” which is the title of this issue’s focal article by Nicholas Carr. The intriguing, and possibly troubling, premise of Carr’s article is that the Internet has been “tinkering with (our) brains, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory.” In short, changing the way we think.

Carr refers to media theorist Marshall McLuhan, who pointed out in the 1960s that media are not just “passive channels of information…they also shape the process of thought.” Carr states that the Internet is “chipping away at (his) capacity for concentration and contemplation.” He suggest that our minds are changing – altering physically – as the norm for information intake becomes a jet of accelerated particles skipping around our neural nodes. The act of reading is the example he uses to drive home his point. His idea is that while we may actually be reading more than we ever have before, on average, due to the ubiquity of text on the Internet and text messaging on cell phone, it is a different type of reading that requires a different type of thinking. Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University is quoted as saying, “We are not only what we read; we are how we read.” She worries that while the Internet may promote efficiency and immediacy, it may also be weakening our ability to fully engage and make deep intuitive connections with the information we are processing. Wolf goes on to cite research that demonstrates that readers of ideograms, such as the Chinese, have a different neural circuitry for reading than do readers of Western languages. The expectation is that the circuits woven by our use of the Internet will be different from that woven by our reading of books and other printed words.

Like Carr and others he quotes, we are noticing a diminution of ability to focus on long pieces of writing. We scan the pages more, squirm, doze off in our chairs, and all too frequently add another book or magazine to the pile of things intend to “get back to.” Carr’s article has injected a new explanation for this impatience – the idea that our brains just aren’t what they used to be.

"Broadband Revolution" - white paper release in D.C.

Our trip to Washington, D.C. was fantastic and the white paper we released was tremendously well-received at the event sponsored by the New America Foundation. Over 150 people attended the event – legislative staffers, FCC Commissioners, political consultants, industry folks and journalists a’plenty. The video below chronicles the entire event but here are the speakers in order, along with the hour:minute:second mark where their remarks appear in the video. This’ll help you to scroll through each to find what you might be most interested in listening in on…

Also – click here to find download-able copies of the white paper’s full report and its executive summary.

- Moderator: Michael Calabrese, New America Foundation (0:00:00)
- Remarks: FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps (0:05:20)
- Remarks: FCC Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein (0:19:30)
- Report author: Jim Baller, Baller Herbst Law Group (0:43:35)
- Partner: Jane Smith Patterson, The e-NC Authority (1:01:15)
- Partner: Diana G. Oblinger, EDUCAUSE (1:15:50)
- Partner: Stan Fendley, Corning, Inc. & Fiber-to-the-Home Council (1:24:50)
- Q&A (1:31:10)

e-NC and the City

The office has been all a’flutter over the last few weeks because we have been preparing for a trip to Washington D.C. on Monday (June 23). It’s not that we are normally a’flutter over a trip to the capital; this time it’s for a particularly special occasion.

Several months ago, in conjunction with our governing board, we began to realize the need for a new piece of research. We needed something concise but powerful – a report that would compile the overwhelming facts and data to support the demand for increased broadband deployment not only in North Carolina, but throughout the entire nation.

The report was commissioned to Jim Baller of Baller Herbst Law Group in Washington, D.C. and is titled Bigger Vision, Bolder Action, Brighter Future: Capturing the Promise of Broadband for North Carolina and America. Basically, it outlines the benefits of broadband and the status of current deployment efforts while also looking at how much bandwidth capacity will be needed in the future. A major emphasis of the report is the need for a national broadband strategy. Strong arguments are made within the report for increased broadband deployment in the U.S. and more action on the part of telecommunications companies and community officials.

The report also includes a series of recommendations to the e-NC Authority and the state of North Carolina. The general ideas expressed in the report’s final recommendations are as follows:

• Push to make North Carolina one of the top five states in broadband adoption and use;
• Participate in a national broadband strategy;
• Work with local citizens and leaders around the state to gather input on how to move the state forward;
• Continue the e-NC Authority’s connectivity programs, but push for higher speeds than just DSL and cable modem service;
• Seek legislative authority for data collection from the providers;
• Encourage proactive policies to promote build-out by service providers; and
• Encourage localities to consider broadband initiatives as an option, along with all other options.

As the report was being finished, we were flattered to receive an offer by the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. to sponsor an event announcement to release the paper.

Want to come?

Keep your eyes on our Web site after 12 p.m. on Monday - electronic files of the full report and the executive summary will be posted at that time.

Infrastructure is infrastructure, is infrastructure. Right?

It has been interesting to see the changing perception of high-speed or broadband Internet in the legislature over the past few years. When the Rural Internet Access Authority (the organization that preceded the e-NC Authority) began operations in 2001, it’s fair to say that not many legislators were tuned in to the importance of this new infrastructure. But over the past eight years, the legislature’s understanding of the need for high-speed Internet services has grown. And a lot of this has to do with how much they have heard from their constituents.

Citizens and state leaders are beginning to more fully realize the growing benefits of broadband for economic development, lifetime education, health care, public safety, homeland security, telework and environmental sustainability, to name a few. Unfortunately, we still lack an easy answer for the citizens and businesses in rural North Carolina that do not have access to a broadband connection. They live in sparsely populated areas; there is little to no business case for the providers to deploy the needed infrastructure there.

But as more leaders come on board to solve this problem, we believe more solutions will be found. So far, there is no magic technology cheap enough to deploy in sparsely populated areas that would deliver true broadband. And we can’t expect the service providers to shoulder the cost all on their own – they are businesses after all. So really, the question is a policy issue, and a critical one for us at the state and national level. Maybe it cannot be solved at the state level, but the states still have an important role to play, serving as models or testing incentives programs, emerging technologies and public-private partnerships to get the job done.

The question is – will North Carolina leaders and national leaders decide that broadband Internet is actually a public service, like electricity and telephone service? Will they implement policy solutions, like they did with electrification of the United States, to ensure that everyone is able to access broadband Internet? We hope so. While we work toward increasing availability here in North Carolina, we can’t do it without the support of our national leaders.

On the bright side, it is clear that times (and minds) are changing. And the legislators really are beginning to understand the issues involved here. When we get calls from people in rural areas that lack broadband service, we try to help on our own but we also encourage them to contact their legislators. With this newfound understanding in the N.C. General Assembly, we believe we will see more focus on the issue of broadband - more discussions, more solutions, and more prosperity for our state.

All good things.

Countdown to digital TV

The FCC currently has a Feb. 17, 2009 deadline for all U.S. broadcasters to transition over to digital. On this date, all analog broadcasting will stop and consumers will need to either purchase a new television or (more reasonably) buy converter boxes in order to continue receiving programming on their older sets.

However - surprise, surprise! Wilmington, N.C., your area will have to transition to digital broadcasting on Sept. 8, 2009. Yours is the lucky test market for the nationwide shutdown of analog broadcasting!

We're all in luck for the greater transition however, because Congress created the TV Converter Box Coupon Program for households wishing to continue to use analog sets after the February 2009 deadline. The program allows U.S. households to obtain up to two coupons, each worth $40, which can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes.

If you are reading this blog, then it's likely that the information about the broadcast transition has already reached you. However, some of your family and friends who are less technically savvy, those folks out there who cannot set the clock on their VCR, will likely need some help in getting a converter box and setting it all up. These individuals may also live in rural areas without access to cable or satellite services.

Here is your opportunity to assist those family members and friends in addressing the issue before the mad rush, especially for the greater Wilmington area. Here are a few questions to consider with the people that may need help:

• Do they have cable or satellite (Dish) services? If so, they are all set to go!
• If not, then how old is their television? (If it is 10 or more years old, then the citizen will need to have a converter box installed.)
• If the television is newer than 10 years old, does it already have a digital tuner? (You will need to look on the back of the set or in the product manual to determine this - look for "digital" or "ATSC tuner.")

Here are some other helpful links and suggestions as we all prepare for the transition:

• Go to http://www.dtv.gov/ - it is full of great information, all in one place, including participating retailers and installation instructions for the converter box.
• Request your converter box coupons now and while supplies last, apply online through www.dtv2009.gov/ApplyCoupon.aspx. It is perfectly legal to apply for someone else as long as you use their home address (this will be validated for eligibility). Only two coupons can be used per U.S. household address, and the coupons are intended for the resident of that household. We recommend applying for two coupons even if you only have one set that needs a converter box.
• Be sure that you purchase the converter box that includes an "analog pass-through" feature (especially for you folks in Wilmington). This feature will allow you to install the box now and your regular television signal will continue to work through the transition in February 2009. This way, with the converter box installed, you can kick back, relax and watch everyone else fly into a procrastination-induced tizzy when the actual deadline rolls around.