Knock knock, ARRA. Where will you invest?

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced recently that they received nearly $28 billion in grant requests for the first round broadband funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Approximately $4 billion has been allocated to be awarded in the first round of available funding – this is out of $7.2 billion total broadband grants available under ARRA.

NTIA and RUS reported that tallies indicate almost 1,500 applications for broadband infrastructure projects and over 300 applications for broadband adoption and public computer programs. Again – these requests have been made under just the first round of available funding, which gave potential grantees a mere five weeks from publication of the Notice of Funds Availability to the application’s due date.

So, it seems there are lots of ideas for how to invest in broadband infrastructure, and a lot of need to go with it. With a national broadband policy still under development, it will be interesting to see which applications are selected, how the use of these funds will shape the future of broadband policy and what changes will be realized in the telecommunications industry overall.

And while the broadband landscape changes, how will this impact other telecom industry infrastructure? According to The Economist, if landlines continue to decline at the current rate, they could be extinct by 2025. This scenario creates its own challenges – a cell phone can sometimes replace a home phone line, but could businesses easily replace landlines? And what about emergency services? Do businesses and individuals without cell phones end up paying more for a critical phone line which, while not as exciting as broadband, is nevertheless a lifeline utility? And with decreased demand, how many remaining customers are paying into the Universal Service Fund? A complementary opinion piece in The Economist calls for regulators to respond to these complex challenges.

Meanwhile, mobile networks continue to grow from investments in 3G and 4G networks. There is talk of possible scrambling to obtain or retain deals with Apple for rights to the iPhone, seen as a compelling enticement for getting customers to sign up with a particular wireless carrier.

All this is to say – you won’t have to look far to see folks waiting on the edge of their seats to see how ARRA broadband funds are invested. Not only will these investments impact broadband evolution, but they will also have a strong influence upon the changing tide telecommunications period – landlines, wireless, voice, data and video. Hopefully there are some exceptional ideas within the 2,200 applications submitted a few weeks ago and, with any luck, these ideas can be sifted through for the best investments to foster innovative broadband and telecom policies for the country.

Making the Grade (Online)

The headlines in the papers right now about constrained budgets can be troubling for anyone interested in public education – or really, all of us. Class sizes are increasing, teaching assistant and instructor positions are being cut, courses are being cancelled altogether and there are not enough books and other instructional materials to go around. Added to this are concerns over the number of students that under-perform, fail to graduate on time or drop out altogether. College admission standards are rising even though we have a lack of teachers certified in math, science and technology – especially in rural counties. We hear that the system is broken, and that we do not have the resources to fix it, at least not through traditional approaches. Therein lies a reason for hope – this crisis of fiscal and human resources may be just the catalyst needed to motivate realization of broadband’s potential to revolutionize education at all levels, in all places.

North Carolina is acting on this promise and charting a course of leadership in virtual education that is a model for the nation. Efforts initiated by then Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue in 2005 through the e-NC Authority and partnering organizations including the N.C. Research and Education Network (NCREN) have successfully extended broadband connectivity to all public educational institutions (k-20) and optimized the federal e-rate that subsidizes connectivity support in k-12 schools statewide. That is the infrastructure side of the equation.

On the content side, the N.C. Virtual Public School (NCVPS), officially launched in June 2007, is emerging as a national leader in the burgeoning field of online public education. NCVPS offers course credit to middle and high school students who want to complete core courses, advanced placement courses, honors courses, and/or credit recovery courses to satisfy requirements for a high school diploma and to enhance their transcripts for college applications. Ranked eighth in the country in state-led virtual school polices and practices, North Carolina already has over 15,300 students enrolled in online NCVPS courses. In addition to expanded academic offerings, NCVPS offers other online services to North Carolina students, such as test preparation, career planning services and credit recovery.

Other e-Learning opportunities available to North Carolina students that might be of interest include the following:

· Learn and Earn Online
· UNC-Greensboro ischool
· N.C. Community College System Online
· UNC Online

We know that online education works. Rigorous analysis of over 1,000 studies on the subject show that on average, higher-level students in online learning programs perform better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. In North Carolina, the networks are in place and the content is available but something is still missing. Too many students in North Carolina do not have household Internet access at speeds and bandwidths necessary for delivering Web-based educational applications. We know that approximately 12 percent of homes with children do not have a computer with Internet access and that approximately 16 percent of homes qualify for subsidized telephone services through the N.C. Lifeline Link-Up program. Efforts are under way in some individual school systems in the state and at the N.C. Department of Public Instruction through its NC 1:1 Learning Collaborative program to make broadband-connected computers available to all students. Another cost-effective model proposes morphing the existing Lifeline Link-Up program to a broadband platform to ensure that all k-12 students in the state have household computers and broadband access. Statewide implementation of such initiatives will more fully capture the benefits of online education for overcoming the state’s many economic and educational challenges.

e-Medicine and the Digital Divide

According to a June 2009 report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 61 percent of American adults look for health information online. Dubbed “e-Patients,” these individuals use the Internet to learn about health topics of interest to them or their friends and family. Be it something as benign as a splinter or life-threatening as Swine Flu (H1N1), the Internet is seen as a source for reliable health information. Of course, the Internet can’t replace doctors, but it can enable users to make informed health care decisions and thereby encourage a more participatory doctor-patient relationship.

WebMD is one of the most well-known health information portals, attracting 17.3 million unique visitors in July 2008. Social networking site Patients Like Me functions as a support group and offers a platform for sharing treatment experiences. Public agencies such as local health departments, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are sources for the most up-to-date health information and scientific data. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, podcasts, medical journals, and medical atlases can also be used to facilitate health care conversations. Beyond that, virtual tours of medical facilities and physician video libraries like VideoMD can be tapped. And clinic directories can be found on sites like the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics. Excellent resources…if you have access.

People who are prone to suffer from serious health conditions generally have little or no access to online health care information. Vulnerable non-users are more likely to be poor, less educated, elderly or chronically ill. And they tend to be from historically underrepresented groups. Some are very young, uninsured or underinsured while others may be out of work, homeless, disabled or have limited-English proficiency. Often, these individuals live in medically-underserved rural or inner city areas and lack access to online health resources. All of this can exacerbate health disparities.

Bridging the digital divide related to health care information begins with extending reliable, affordable broadband to vulnerable populations while also supplying Internet-ready computers. Likewise, collaborative efforts are needed to provide computer skills training with emphasis on strategies for accessing health information online and using chronic disease management tools. It’s also essential that health content be accurate and multi-lingual. Copyright restrictions and pay-for-use fees that stem the dissemination of health information should, likewise, be reassessed. It’s equally important that findings from health disparities research be used to craft e-health policy. Daunting as these tasks may seem, as a nation, we are on the cusp of a new era in health care, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers an unparalleled opportunity to address digital divide issues. The challenge is to turn that opportunity into action.

Google’s Chrome OS

So, let’s imagine that your company name has become a verb. Lucky dog! You’ve just reported revenues of $5.52 billion for the quarter ending June 30, 2009 – despite the global economic downturn. You’re a key player in the search engine market. You operate a Web browser. Your Gmail service gives users more than 7,300 MB of free storage and you’ve found a clever and popular way to map the Earth. How do you top that? Well, if you’re Google, you extend your reach just a little bit farther to see if you can shake things up in the operating system (OS) realm.

In early July, Google revealed that it is developing a free, open-source, Linux-based operating system that is using the Web as its primary development platform. The fast, lightweight OS will carry the same “Chrome” moniker as the company’s Web browser and when it debuts some time in 2010, it will join OS giants like Linux, Apple Leopard, and Microsoft Windows. Chrome will run on standard x86 chips and ARM chips, and Google is working with companies like Acer, Adobe, ASUS, Freescale, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Toshiba to bring Chrome OS-compatible devices to market.

Chrome is not Google’s first foray into the OS arena. Android, the company’s mobile OS, runs on the G1 phone from T-Mobile. Though there will be some overlap, Google intends to keep both systems with an eye toward market segmentation. Android, as the company explained in a recent blog post, is designed “to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks.” Chrome OS is “being created for people who spend most of their time on the Web, and [it] is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems.” The company also reports that it is “going back to basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”

But will it?

Critics of Chrome say Google has brand power, but lacks driver ecosystem knowledge and the type of customer support staff that an OS requires. There are also privacy concerns. Undoubtedly, Google has given these and other criticisms a great deal of thought, so Chrome OS is not likely to end up as just another heap of code on the R&D scrap pile. Google knows that Chrome has promise, and the idea of using the Web as the primary development platform seems to build on the master plan of cloud computing. This, of course, raises an interesting question: Given the way people have embraced cloud-centric e-mail and social networking, is the Internet the future of the operating system? Stay tuned. Google may very well have the answer.

States Compete for Efficiency and Opportunity – via Technology

This fall, all 50 states will have the opportunity to find help (in the form of cash grants) from the federal government to assist in developing their own authorities to map broadband availability. These federal grants are also available to assist in addressing broadband supply, demand and uptake rates in households, businesses and major community institutions in each state. Known as the Broadband Data and Improvement Act of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), between $1.3 and $3.8 million is available to each state depending on the competitiveness of their grant applications.

Why is this so important to citizens? Broadband deployment enables better access to health care and educational opportunities, while also enhancing economic competitiveness – among countless other benefits. For the first time, governments in all 50 states will be able to take a good look at how they interact with citizens as they contemplate greater broadband availability.

Here are some examples of how greater access to government services could help citizens:

Better, Faster, Cheaper is a new Web site of the Harvard University Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and aims to provide a forum for government officials to post best practices. There is currently a very robust ongoing column about technology and government, well worth perusing.

On his way out of office, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack worked with legislative leaders to develop an “Office of Lean” in the Department of Management. The goal of this initiative is to identify and eliminate wasteful or overlapping spending – saving money for the citizens of Iowa while simultaneously improving services. The bonus? Participating government departments are given the option to retain up to 50 percent of the identified savings.

Last year, Utah’s state government transitioned to a four-day work week and opted to close public buildings on Fridays. They realized an immediate annual savings of $4 million in energy costs alone. Utah has now moved more than 850 services to the Internet. According to state CIO Steve Fletcher, it has been very successful with citizens.

So again – how can technology help? ARRA grants across America will jump-start broadband and enable states to deploy this infrastructure faster; it will be a sight to behold when more private, government and nonprofit initiatives are funded to deploy broadband. This will also assist community anchor institutions (schools, libraries, hospitals, etc.) to become part of statewide broadband networks – whether these networks are run by government, nonprofit or private sectors.

We are witnessing a paramount shift in how governments deliver services – driven wholly by technology. But when you really boil it down, the citizens will also have a tremendous impact on the new and fresh ideas of how this will actually come to fruition. How can technology make your state government greener? How can technology reduce the cost of government? How can citizens find government more transparent with broadband access? These are your questions – but are they being directed to your government?

Disability Should Not Mean Disconnected: Recasting Lifeline/Link-Up Programs

The Internet is sometimes described as “the great equalizer,” capable of overcoming most barriers in the delivery of resources and services to an ever-expanding spectrum of people and organizations. The importance of universal Internet access and the ability to use broadband-enabled information and services is made explicit in the core purposes of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA, section 6001). In addition to providing support to ensure access and stimulate demand for broadband in unserved and underserved areas, public safety agencies, job-creating strategic facilities and anchor institutions (such as schools, libraries, and medical facilities) the ARRA funds target organizations and agencies serving vulnerable populations. In ARRA documents and the related Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), the term “vulnerable” includes those whose Internet access and use is limited due to “low income, unemployed [and] aged” conditions. While persons with physical disabilities are not expressly referenced in the BTOP Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA), they have been singled out for special attention in draft legislation previously submitted to reform federal broadband programs (Benton Foundation example, Hearing Loss Web example).

The Federal Communications Commission, with funding from the Universal Service Fund, administers the Lifeline/Link-Up programs to address telecommunications needs of qualifying low-income citizens. Historically, the Lifeline/Link-Up programs provide discounts for initial installation and activation of telephone services over publicly-switched telephone networks. More recently, discounts have been extended to include wireless services in select areas. As broadband becomes more important in the delivery of basic services, some are arguing that it is time to reform these programs and their funding sources in order to subsidize broadband and Internet-based services. The need to transform the Lifeline/ Link-Up programs to provide broadband service is especially acute in among disabled citizens, where the percentage of persons with Internet access is reported to be only half that of the general population.

North Carolina has long been an advocate and active partner in extending voice service to those who qualify for Lifeline/Link-Up program assistance. Lifeline subsidies subtract $13.50 monthly from the telephone bills of qualifying customers. Of this amount, $10 is the federal portion paid directly to service providers; the remaining $3.50 is treated as a tax credit that offsets corporate state taxes accrued by service providers. According to Hugh Gerringer with the N.C. Utilities Commission, approximately 126,000 customers in North Carolina received Lifeline subsidies on their phone bill even though nearly 500,000 families qualify. Many of the state’s low-income citizens are also disabled. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 21.1 percent of individuals in North Carolina who were 5 years of age and older were identified as having a disability; this figure that is slightly higher than the overall 19.3 percent found in the national population. Among adults age 65 and older, this figure is 45.7 percent.

The e-NC Authority is developing a proposal in response to the available ARRA broadband funding to pilot a program that will adapt the Lifeline/Link-Up programs to support broadband service for low-income and disabled populations in North Carolina. This proposed pilot program will include outreach and training initiatives targeting social service agencies serving as the gatekeepers for qualifying individuals. The pilot will also address training opportunities for those receiving services.

Where the CITIZENS come to ask questions…

Almost on a daily basis, the e-NC Authority hears from citizens that do not have broadband access. Their stories are often born from ongoing frustration with lack of service, being held back at work and school by not having service, and the experience they have had with telecommunications service providers.

When we correspond with citizens, we always try to gather information about their specific experience (ex. do they know others nearby without service, what their experience has been when contacting who they think would be the obvious service provider, how lack of service is affecting their life/home, etc.), but we also encourage them to write to their legislators about the issue. Often, we must also explain the nature of the telecommunications industry and its relationship with regulatory government. Once we gather information about the citizen’s home address and landline telephone number, we ensure that the citizen has contact information for their elected leaders in the N.C. General Assembly.

With address and home landline in-hand, we then forward that information to the closest service provider to inquire about if that citizen’s location is included in any known deployment plans. Getting this answer back from a service provider can take anywhere from a few days to several months. We always forewarn citizens that the e-NC Authority does not hold regulatory authority and that getting information back from the service provider about their specific location can often take a long period of time.

The content of the correspondence is something to behold. From time to time, we plan to post that content to this blog. Here are a few. (Specific information from citizens and their service provider has been removed to protect privacy.)

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Hello, I live three miles from the local university and cannot get broadband. I am a professional therapist and my wife is a professor at the college. A neighbor up the road gets broadband, but apparently we are too far from the source. We are supposedly about the same distance away from the other transfer station, so we will likely never get broadband. Help!

I have had (the telecommunications company) come and check the line on two separate occasions. They never let me know their findings until I called and was routed through several different branches of their service. Then I was told our house was too far away, with no explanation about why our neighbor who lives up the mountain received broadband services.

S.M., Jackson County

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I live in Graham County. For the last two years I have been struggling to get broadband service at my residence. I contacted (the telecommunications company) and they stated that DSL service was not available. After talking to the local technicians, they said it might be possible to get DSL. The current outcome is that the local employees want to provide the service and they say they could, but the upper management of their company did not want to provide a solution. I've called and talked to anybody in (the telecommunications company’s) chain of management that would listen to me. The higher up I go, the less they care about the situation and always more focus on profit issues.

My wife is a full time college student who is a distant learner and her university requires high-speed Internet for school work. She must drive either to the public library or her mother's house to have Internet access. I know of many more residents in my area and in Graham County who would like broadband service to better themselves. It seems my efforts alone will not get the ball rolling, so if there is any help or guidance that e-NC can provide would be greatly appreciated. If this helps any I am a Disabled Veteran, a former Marine, who is still serving (in a public service job) and in the U.S. Army reserves. All I am asking for is for something that many take for granted.

K.T., Graham County

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I took an early retirement package from a newspaper in November and established a business at my home. I have been severely hampered by having only slow, dialup Internet at home. Many Web sites I need to use for research will not open here. PDFs are also very slow to open, if they open at all. Often, I write on my laptop and then drive six miles to another town to e-mail my article to my customer. One offer of regular editing work was rescinded in part because of my "connectivity issues."

Everything I do takes much, much longer than it should. This is a real burden in my business. I live in eastern Stokes County. (Telecommunications company) is my phone provider; they will not bring DSL to my house, even though they have it north of here. (Another telecommunications company) is the local cable provider; they told me I am "unserviceable" even though they come near our road. Someone I met who lives in a remote area of Stokes County right on the Virginia line recommended (a satellite company), but they said that they will not serve my area.

I have a (telecommunications company) air card for my laptop, but their service is not strong enough in my house to use the air card. Once, I wrote an article in my laptop and, because it was raining, had to drive to the top of a nearby hill just to send it out by e-mail. This is not a very good way to run a business.

I e-mailed all my state representatives and some others who I had been told were on crucial committees about rural broad-band back in the winter. I received not a single reply. If there is anything I can do to help this process along, please let me know.

L.B., Stokes County