RD238 - Annual Status Report on Advancing Affordable High-Bandwidth Electronic Networks in Rural Virginia


Executive Summary:
Advanced telecommunications infrastructure – otherwise known as broadband networks – is the first enabling technology since electricity to fundamentally impact society to such a great extent that it is now viewed in economic development circles as “critical infrastructure’’ that is essential to the minimum operations of the economy and government. (*1) This is why the deployment of affordable, last-mile, broadband services across the Commonwealth has been a priority for Governor Mark R. Warner and Secretaries of Technology George Newstrom and Eugene J. Huang.

Virginia’s research priorities–nanotechnology, SmartBio, homeland defense, modeling and simulation–and indeed its overall economic competitiveness are dependent upon having affordable ubiquitous, high-speed Internet access available to governments, educational institutions, universities, entrepreneurial ventures, corporations (large and small), students and the entire Virginia workforce.

The need for high-speed networks is particularly important in rural areas of Virginia that are economically distressed, since municipalities cannot retain existing businesses or attract new ones without having broadband services available. Generally, these same areas have low population density rates that deter private sector investment. It is in these depressed areas that government intervention is necessary to spark private-sector interest and investment in broadband services, in order to level the playing field for competition with urban and suburban metropolitan areas.

For the future of Virginia’s workforce, broadband access is no longer optional. In order to develop, nurture and retain the best and brightest workers for Virginia companies, it is imperative that workers (present and future) have access to broadband technologies so that educational and career development activities can be pursued.

Finally, for the citizens of the Commonwealth, broadband access affords a quality of life that has never before existed. For the young and old alike, access to broadband connectivity offers opportunities such as:

• Increased availability of learning, research and cultural opportunities.
• Access to world-class medical treatment through telemedicine.
• Flexibility of lifestyle via telecommuting.
• New opportunities for community interaction and involvement.

With these across-the-board benefits, the availability (or lack thereof) of affordable broadband services in Virginia will be a determining factor in the competitiveness of the Commonwealth in the 21st century and beyond. Foreseeing the importance that ecommerce and broadband would play in the future of the Commonwealth, CIT took the lead and began offering e-commerce and broadband related services in the mid 1990s. This role was formally added to CIT’s mission through budget language (*2) passed by the General Assembly in 2003. In accordance with this budget language, CIT continues to develop resources and programs to facilitate the deployment of affordable broadband telecommunication services into underserved areas of the Commonwealth. In keeping with the requirements of the amendment, CIT presents this report that continues the documentation (*3) of Virginia’s progress toward ubiquitous availability of affordable broadband services.

Leadership and tenacity continue to drive the deployment of broadband services throughout the Commonwealth. Despite budget constraints private companies, municipalities and legislators continue to find creative ways to facilitate the deployment of broadband services across the Commonwealth.

Broadband remains an enabler, an accelerator, and a catalyst. With it, social and economic development opportunities are expanded, worker productivity increases and lives are enhanced. Without it, communities find themselves on the wrong side of the Digital Divide, left to struggle while others move farther into the knowledge age.

While the need for broadband is ubiquitous, technologies are not. No single technology can meet all the challenges (population density, geography, etc.) of deploying affordable broadband solutions into non-metropolitan areas. Hybrid networks remain the best solution because they offer combinations of technologies and services rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Therefore, each locality (neighborhood, city, town, county, state or country) needs to devise broadband strategies and deployment plans that define a technological solution that best meets current needs while remaining adaptable enough to accommodate the integration of future technical advancements, physical expansion and increasing capacity demands. The publication "Broadband Bringing Home the Bits" stated it best: “Broadband deployment is an ongoing process, not a one-time transition.” (*4)

One broadband deployment “reality” that often gets lost in the process of selecting and deploying the “right” technology is that the true benefits to be reaped from a broadband network result from the social and economic interactions that traverse its capacity – not the existence of the infrastructure itself.

The bottom-line is that the introduction of broadband technologies (regardless of type) has the potential to create significant economic benefits. Noted benefits include:

• Increased worker productivity
• Job creation
• Increased wages
• Efficiencies (time and money)

Additionally, second-tier benefits also include:
• Reduced commuting time
• Increased entertainment consumption
• Internet telephony (IP)
• Savings in healthcare costs (telemedicine)
• Increased demand for broadband related equipment (computers, home networking equipment, wireless handheld devices)

The remainder of this report highlights applications, enablers, and deployments that are advancing the Commonwealth toward the “One Virginia” goal of providing “every household and business in Virginia with the opportunity to purchase high-speed, high-quality, affordable broadband.”
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(*1) Definition of critical infrastructure from the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions ( http://www.atis.org)
(*2) “The Center for Innovative Technology shall continue to support efforts of public and quasi-public bodies within the Commonwealth to enhance or facilitate the prompt availability of and access to advanced electronic communication services, commonly known as broadband, throughout the Commonwealth, monitoring trends and advances in advanced electronic communications technology to plan and forecast future needs for such technology, and identify funding options.”
(*3) The documentation process began with HJ163 – "Advancing Affordable, High-bandwidth Electronic Networks in Rural Virginia," a report published in 2002 by The Secretary of Technology and Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology.
(*4) Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2002.p.163