Webcast highlights role of state initiatives in expanding high speed Internet access

Earlier this week, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Alliance for Public Technology (APT) co-sponsored a fascinating webcast based on a new joint report from the APT and CWA on current state efforts to expand high speed Internet access.

The report, called State Broadband Initiatives, provides a comprehensive review of the status of high speed Internet in every state. It found that millions of people across the country have no high speed access, but many states have initiatives to fix this problem, including task forces and commissions, public-private partnerships, direct funding programs, telehealth networks, and tax policies to spur investment.

The NGA and APT webcast discussed these efforts in more detail, and provided insight on some of the more successful programs. CWA research economist and APT president Kenneth Peres participated, noting the importance of high speed Internet to the U.S. economy:

"What we might not realize is that we're in the midst of an economic transformation, that the very underpinning of our economy is changing. And this 21st century economy will be defined by pipelines, but not pipelines that carry oil. These pipelines will carry megabits... And what we need is a comprehensive broadband strategy that will do double duty: It will address the current crisis by stimulating investment, jobs and output. But it will also speed up the transformation of our economy for the long-run benefit of everyone."

The NGA recently made a similar point in a letter to the Congressional leadership, arguing that high speed Internet investment can have important effects in stimulating the economy.

And as the APT/CWA report shows, state initiatives can serve as models for federal action. Illustrating this point at the webcast were Michael Ramage, director of Connected Tennessee, and Karen Jackson, director of Virginia's Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance Program.

Ramage discussed Connected Tennessee's effort to create a comprehensive map of the state's internet connections, noting that good data is essential for crafting effective policies that encourage high speed Internet investment, deployment and adoption. He also talked about the initiative's Computers4Kids program, which has distributed computers to more than 1,000 needy families, and provided some figures about the success Tennessee has had in improving its high speed Internet adoption rate.

Jackson noted some similarities and differences between Virginia's efforts and those of Tennessee. Like Tennessee, Virginia has attempted to collect better data on high speed access. But the commonwealth has also worked to empower communities with the tools they need to take action on this issue at the local level.

The final takeaway from the webcast was that in order for all Americans to reap the benefits of high speed Internet, states can lead the way with policies that encourage good data collection, set proper goals, offer incentives and other stimulus for investment and adoption, and provide sufficient funding to for success.

Webcast: State Efforts to Expand Broadband Access (National Governors Association)

State Broadband Initiatives: A Summary of State Programs Designed to Stimulate Broadband Deployment and Adoption (Alliance for Public Technology)

High speed Internet as an economic stimulus (Speed Matters)

Connected Tennessee releases county-level Internet speed map (Speed Matters)

Connected Tennessee provides computers to needy kids (Speed Matters)

Tennessee outpaces nation in adoption of high speed Internet (Speed Matters)

Virginia struggles to find out who's connected (Speed Matters)

Virginia Broadband Roundtable releases toolkit and final report (Speed Matters)