Lacking broadband infrastructure in N.C. - Alamance County

Jean Apple of Alamance County shares her story about the challenges of life without broadband (particularly in her experience with AT&T) at a public meeting about poor Internet access in North Carolina.

Paging the Economy! Can We Get Some Stimulation Please?

It is impossible to watch the news these days without hearing stories on the economic recession and how it is impacting the country. As the recession continues, national and state leaders are examining a variety of ingredients in some far-off economic stimulus packages – all wondering if any of them will help to stir the economy. Early on, there was talk of a possible focus on physical infrastructure – investing in improved roads, airports and schools for the country – creating jobs through the implementation of these projects, simultaneously improving the backbone of the country. But FINALLY, the idea of increasing broadband infrastructure became part of the discussion.
Last weekend, in a radio address, Pres.-elect Obama pledged rollout of a massive public works program as part of his economic stimulus plan, including a renewal of the country’s information superhighway. While some have said that physical infrastructure projects take too much time to show results, others say the recession is deep enough that we have plenty of reason to invest for the long term. If we are moving toward an infrastructure-focused plan, it seems that broadband, our gateway to 21st century competitiveness, should be the key component.

Edward Glaeser’s recent column in the New York Times talks about the challenge of not losing focus on human capital in the mix of all the public infrastructure projects, especially when considering the unskilled workers. And really, broadband is A LOT more than just physical infrastructure. It is more so a tool that allows citizens and communities to reach their full capacity by enabling them to be connected to each other. A global conversation, if you will. But reaching those left behind will require not only infrastructure, but also training and education that will help unskilled workers reap the benefits of this tool.

This plan holds lots of potential promise for those interested in a national broadband strategy, but there is much left to be defined. It will be interesting to see how a massive broadband deployment program would be rolled out. From the FCC? From individual states? From some yet-unnamed entity? Broadband is not currently considered a public utility. Traditional public works programs are defined by the government investing in government-owned infrastructure. So if that’s the case moving forward, who will own this valuable infrastructure? If the funding goes to private service providers, what will be the criteria for deployment? How do we ensure competition between the providers, and what areas will be targeted? These questions are just some of the complicated issues to be sorted out in the country’s economic stimulus plan. At the e-NC Authority, we will be watching with great interest to see how it unfolds.

Where for Art Though, oh Wi-Fi Hot Spot?

Are you planning to travel somewhere, and do you anticipate needing access to the Internet during that time? Most hotel properties now have Internet access for their guests, but many tend to charge an additional fee for this service. However, if you need to get on the Internet where wired service isn’t available, there are numerous options that provide this access on a wireless network called Wi-Fi.

Most of North Carolina’s public libraries have this service, so they are listed in the following links. But plenty of others are – consider the myriad coffee shops and McDonalds that now serve as community Wi-Fi hot spots, often at no cost.

Here are two sources to preview before you venture out into the land of “what-if-there-isn’t-connectivity.”

http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/

http://www.jiwire.com/browse-hotspot-all-united-states-us-north-carolina-nc-28.htm

These can be used as a resource for finding wireless access points around the world and here at home. As for North Carolina, there are over 1,800 hot spot locations listed on the first site, and around 1,700 listed on the second site.

A Wi-Fi hot spot is defined as any location in which 802.11 (wireless) technology exists and is also made available for use by consumers. In some cases, the wireless access is free, but many locales have charges for this service. But as ever, buyer (or user) beware. Enhanced security measures should always be used to protect your credentials, passwords and data during wireless Internet sessions.

Broadband Policy and Obama: What to Expect

The votes are in; now the work begins. What can we expect in terms of how broadband Internet will infuse and define the platforms, programs, policies of President-elect Obama’s first administration? How can we get involved? Fortunately, the answers to these questions can be found online where Obama is already on the record as supporting universal broadband access and its use in support of education, health care, business development and civic engagement in government at all levels. The following excerpts from various sources capture and highlight what we might expect from his administration related to broadband.

Some of Obama’s sector-specific goals for broadband include…

Business Development:
Obama recognizes the role that technology and broadband Internet needs play in business development.

Health Care:
A key feature of Obama’s plan to lower health care costs is the proposal to invest $10 billion each year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic information technology systems. This includes use of electronic health records to better coordinate care, measure quality and reduce medical errors.

Public Safety:
Obama is committed to improving the use of ICT to support public safety and improve response to emergencies and natural disasters. Critical to this is investment in the development and deployment of new technologies to promote interoperability, broadband access and more effective communications between public safety responders and their network systems.

Education:
Obama will push for funding to bring broadband access into all K-12 schools as a minimum technology operating platform.

Civic Engagement:
Building on the most technology-intensive campaign ever, the Obama administration envisions continued and expanded use of the Internet to encourage civic engagement.

Speed DOES matter

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) have been strong supporters of universal Internet access in the United States. These last two years, they have taken that message online, especially in an effort to try to demonstrate what the true picture is of the speeds that people have to deal with across our land.

According to the CWA, between May 2007 and May 2008, over 230,000 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have found their Web site to take the Internet speed test and to measure how fast their computers can upload and download data. Unfortunately, the results show how far the United States lags other countries in speeds. And that’s not good…

But why should we care? Speed matters because it defines the applications that you can effectively run on the Internet from your home, business, government or institution. The United States – the very country that invented the Internet – have now fallen to a world rank of 15th in the percent of the population subscribing to broadband. This is according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development survey (OECD). Canada, France, and South Korea all have faster Internet connections. In Japan you can download an entire movie or educational course in two minutes, but it could take you two hours or more in the United States. And that’s if you’re lucky. And as for cost? Citizens in Japan often pay the same as we do and sometimes lower for their Internet connections of profoundly faster speed.

Take the CWA’s speed test and test your computer access and download speeds. Last year, the United States had a median download speed of 2.35 Mbps. North Carolina had a median download speed of 2.93 Mbps. On page 40 of the CWA August 2008 Speed Matters Report, you can find the page for North Carolina. Our median upload speed is 369 kbps. So in that regard, our ranking among the states is 11th, up from 16th in 2007.

Is the Internet Immune to an Economic Downturn?

Our economy has been on a real rollercoaster ride this year. Most every day brings new stories of bank failures. Stock market troubles. Mortgages gone wild. Fluctuating oil prices. The National Debt that even the famous Times Square “counter” can’t keep up with. And then there’s the $700 billion bailout (ahem…rescue plan). Add to this volatile mix, pundits consulting their crystal balls, comparing our current economic crisis to the Great Depression, and telling us the obvious – that the institutions we’ve traditionally trusted have failed us. Our domestic woes are now impacting the world and, oh by the way, we might be in a recession. Bad news withstanding, the Internet seems to be thriving. And no wonder…

According to a May 2008 survey by Pew, 73 percent of American adults are Internet users. And in this age of Google, iTunes, eBay and cars.com, users are spending money, and lots of it. Forrester Research shows online sales, excluding travel, reached $175 billion in 2007. And Forrester expects the figure to hit $204 billion this year, despite the economic slump.

Online content consumption is also on the rise. In June 2008, Cisco reported global Internet traffic will grow at a compound annual rate of 46 percent from 2007 to 2012. And the company believes Internet videos will account for 50 percent of consumer traffic in 2012.

But, back to the question of whether the Internet is immune to an economic downturn. The Internet is certainly well-insulated because of high demand for its offerings and affordable delivery. Likewise, its worldwide audience, innovation-friendly environment, and seemingly unlimited expansion potential offer some additional warm-and-fuzzy buffers. On the other hand, though, Internet content and usage is influenced by our needs and wants, and our relationship to the prevailing economy shapes those needs and wants. So, can there really be a definitive yes or no answer to the question? What do you think?

Is e-rate working for North Carolina schools and libraries?

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 expanded the obligation of telecommunications providers to allow discounted services to the nation's schools and libraries. This initiative became known as the e-rate (Education Rate) program, administered by the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Company. The e-rate program funds technology discounts to K-12 schools, and amounts nationally to approximately $2.5 billion each year.

All libraries and K-12 schools are eligible for discounts at a minimum of 20 percent and up to a maximum of 90 percent, based on the school’s participation in the National School Lunch Program. Applicants are also required to have a state-approved technology plan before they can receive discounted services through e-rate.

But even with the help of e-rate funds, many schools and libraries struggle to pay for vital telecommunications services. So to help, the N.C. General Assembly in 2007 funded a $12 million initiative to pay the balance (amount not covered by e-rate) of the cost to connect schools. In the 2008 session, legislators stepped up again to grant an additional $10 million.

North Carolina is in the process of upgrading services to Local Education Agencies (LEA) and to each of the associated schools with adequate bandwidth to support their needs. The majority of North Carolina’s schools and LEAs are operating at 100 Mbps but many are connected at speeds far slower than this. The installation will be complete this year with the exception of the schools still under independent contract for this service, and even those will be converted at the end of their next contract.

With funding from the e-rate program, the N.C. General Assembly and Golden LEAF, each school will have resources to participate in programs like Virtual School, Learn and Earn and distance education through interactive video.

This program has greatly enhanced educational capabilities of participating schools by allowing high-speed connections not only to the Internet, but also to state’s computing systems. So to answer our own question – YES – the program seems to be working…