From the Dispatch

State Broadband Awardees May Apply For Additional Funds

Fabiola Carrion — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:51:25 -0400

State governments may seek additional funding for up to three additional years on broadband projects. The announcement comes from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) who recognized that "better data and strategic planning are needed on the state level.

Launched last year, NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program assists states in gathering data on the availability, speed, and location of broadband services. Originally funded for a two-year period, it has now been extended to five. States can now apply for three additional years of mapping and data collection work, as well as other initiatives, including state broadband task forces or advisory boards, technical assistance programs, local or regional technology planning efforts, and programs to promote increased computer ownership and Internet usage.

As we detailed in a previous Dispatch, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act apportioned billions of dollars in funding for state broadband initiatives, of which more than $100 million in grants have already been distributed. One example of these efforts is Maine's "Three-Ring Binder" network, which was launched thanks to $25.4 million awarded by the NTIA to reach the under-served and unserved rural areas of Maine. Rep. Cynthia Dill introduced LD 1778 to classify dark fiber as a utility and broadband provider to create a broadband sustainability fund to support "last mile" high-speed Internet infrastructure.

FCC's New National Broadband Plan: Implications for State Policy

Fabiola Carrion — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:23:55 -0400

One hundred million Americans do not have broadband at home and the United States continues to lag behind a large number of our international economic competitors in broadband access and speed, according to the findings of the National Broadband Plan. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week unveiled the long-awaited plan with a vast array of information and recommendations to address these problems, as well as approaches to maximize the economic and social gains from broadband adoption.

In addition to promoting universal broadband access, the plan emphasizes the role of broadband in education, health care, energy and the environment, government performance, civic engagement, public safety, and economic opportunity. The plan includes a firm recognition that broadband acquisition cannot occur without the active participation of the states.

Expanding Broadband Access: A number of recommendations have clear implications for policy action by state and local governments. On the basic issue of expanded access to broadband, the FCC recommendations include:

Congress should make clear that tribal, state, regional and local governments can build broadband networks. (Recommendation 8.19) As private investors do not always have the strongest incentives to deploy broadband in rural and underserved communities at an affordable price, states and local leaders should be allowed to step in to provide affordable broadband services that will meet their residents’ needs.
Federal and state policies should facilitate demand aggregation and use of state, regional and local networks when that is the most cost-efficient solution for anchor institutions to meet their connectivity needs. (Recommendation 8.20) Pooling demand among institutions can provide more access to a wider constituency at lower prices.
State legislators are essential partners in developing the framework that will help anchor institutions to obtain broadband connectivity, training, applications, and services. (Recommendation 8.22) States should compliment broadband deployment with digital education programs and fund community technology centers to ensure that residents of all ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, and ages understand how to be producers and consumers of this new media economy.
When feasible, Congress should consider allowing state and local governments to get lower service prices by participating in federal contracts for advanced communications services. (Recommendation 14.2)
The FCC plan provides additional recommendations for the inclusion of tribal leaders in broadband programs, construction of new networks in areas that are currently un-served, and the establishment of the Connect America Fund to address the broadband availability gap in un-served areas.

The FCC recommendations also focused on helping states make broadband more affordable and increasing the training needed to encourage adoption , including:

An expansion of the Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America programs, where states already have these discount programs in place, as in Vermont, the FCC recommends letting states determine their own eligibility requirements.
The creation of a National Digital Literacy Program to increase the skills needed to participate in the digital economy.
The collection of more comprehensive and reliable information on broadband pricing, performance, and competition in specific market segments to better inform policymakers on affordability problems in specific communities.

Broadband and a Greener Economy: The report also discusses the ways broadband and smart grid technologies will serve a greener economy by significantly cutting energy use -- a point Progressive States Network and our partners, the Blue Green Alliance, the Sierra Club, and the Communications Workers of America highlighted in a recent report, Networking the Green Economy.

The FCC recommendations include that States should support smart grid applications (Recommendation 12.2) and States should require electric utilities to provide consumers access to, and control of, their own digital energy information, including real-time information from smart meters and historical consumption, price and bill data over the Internet. (Recommendation 12.7) The FCC further explained, "consumers [should be given] access to, and control of, their own digital energy information, including real-time information from smart meters and historical consumption, price and bill data over the Internet.”

As our report notes, smart meters and dynamic pricing could give consumers the ability to track their own power usage and then provide a financial incentive to alter their energy consumption either by shifting away from periods of peak demand, purchasing more environmentally friendly and energy efficient appliances, or simply decreasing overall energy usage. With the right type of consumer protections and technological metrics in place, smart meters can help individuals purchase energy more efficiently.

Other Issues: The FCC also highlighted the importance of telehealth, a national public safety broadband network, working with states to provide cyber-security protection, support for e-commerce, and state monitoring of ARRA Broadband related projects, an issue we discussed in a previous Dispatch that analyzed trends in ARRA funding.

In general, advocacy groups and telecommunications companies alike have praised the intentions outlined in the plan. Through their own distinct lens, however, they question how these ambitious goals would be reached. The Plan is undeniably a good first step, but some are already questioning whether it is enough. Only with Congress moving forward with the Plan’s recommendations and states taking their own actions to universalize broadband adoption within their jurisdictions will we reap the full promise of these communication technologies.

Resources:
Federal Communications Commission - The National Broadband Plan
Progressive States Network - "Networking the Green Economy: How Broadband and Related Technologies Can Build a Green Economic Future"
Progressive States Network - The FCC Extends E-Rate Broadband Access Program to the General PublicProgressive States Network - Press Release: Progressive States Network Applauds FCC National Broadband Plan
The Washington Post- How the FCC’s New National Broadband Plan is Expected to Affect Consumers
The New York Times - FCC Questioned on Its Far-Reaching Plan to Expand Broadband Access
National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors – Press Release: NATOA Applauds FCC’s National Broadband Plan

Networking the Green Economy: How Broadband and Related Technologies Can Build a Green Economic Future

Fabiola Carrion — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:11 -0500

Deploying broadband and related communication technologies, including smart meters in the home and smart grids to upgrade our power grid, have the potential of revolutionizing energy management and economic development, according to a new report by the Progressive States Network released in association with our partners, Communications Workers of America, the Sierra Club and the Blue Green Alliance. Last Thursday, leaders from those organizations convened at a panel on Capitol Hill, hosted by U.S. Representative Edward Markey, Chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and joined by Nick Sinai, Director of Energy and Environment for the FCC's Broadband Strategy Plan, to discuss the findings of the report entitled:

Networking the Green Economy: How Broadband & Related Technologies Can Build a Green Economic Future


"This report highlights a historic partnership between labor, technology and environmental groups needed to stop climate change and expand broadband access for all Americans" - Congressman Ed. Markey

PSN's Executive Director Nathan Newman was joined on the panel by Executive Director of the Blue Green Alliance David Foster, Sierra Club President Allison Chin, and Communications Workers of America Vice President Annie Hill. As Congressman Markey noted during his speech, this report heralds a new alliance of labor, technology and environmental groups in a "historic partnership" to take the next steps needed to stop climate change, expand broadband access for all Americans, and build towards energy independence for the nation.

The key conclusion of both the report and the panel was that investing in broadband and communication technologies cannot be seen as a distinct goal from the construction of a green economy. By the same token, failure to address the digital divide could result in the exclusion of poor and rural communities from the green economy as well. It is imperative that the environmental, technology, and labor communities work together in the construction of a smart economy since an additional $50 billion investment in the smart grid over the next five years would create or retain an average of 239,000 new jobs for each five years.

This Dispatch will outline some other critical findings of the report, including:

Upgrading the Grid: Information Communication Technologies is Key to More Efficient Coordination of Energy Supplies and Distribution
Smart Technologies to Reduce Energy Demand in the Home and Office
Broadband Applications to Reduce Travel and Fuel Costs

It will also highlight the pathway to networking the green economy, including the need to protect consumers and workers during the transition, the need for a plan that promotes deployment and adoption of broadband by all households, and the immediate policies states can begin to implement to move towards that future.

To download a copy of the report or the executive summary, please visit www.progressivestates.org/greeneconomy.

Resources:
Progressive States Network, Blue Green Alliance, Communications Workers of America and Sierra Club - Networking the Green Economy: How Broadband and Related Technologies can Build a Green Economic Future
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation - The Digital Road to Recovery: A Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs, Boost Productivity and Revitalize America

Table of Contents

- Upgrading the Grid: Information Communication Technologies Are Key to More Efficient Coordination of Energy Supplies and Distribution

- Smart Technologies that Reduce Energy Demand in the Home and Office

- Broadband Applications to Reduce Travel and Fuel Costs

- The Pathway to Networking the Green Economy

- Conclusion: States Moving Forward on Networking the Green Economy

Upgrading the Grid: Information Communication Technologies Are Key to More Efficient Coordination of Energy Supplies and Distribution


"Realizing the full potential and benefits of investments in efficiency and renewables will ... require a significant upgrade in our communications and transmission infrastructure" - Allison Chin, President of the Sierra Club President

Our present power grid, using outdated technologies, wastes massive amounts of energy during the transmission and distribution of electricity.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) estimates that power system disturbances cost 50 cents for every dollar spent for electricity, and that the smart grid has the potential to reduce this cost by 50 percent or more. States can no longer afford the estimated $80 billion and $150 billion costs that power outages incur annually. Energy savings equivalent to eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from 53 million cars could be achieved by improving the efficiency of the grid by just 5 percent and smart grid technologies could stop the power outages that cost the U.S. economy $49 billion per year.

Upgrading the electricity grid will produce more efficient energy, reduce greenhouse emissions, save costs to producers and consumers, as well as create sustainable jobs.

Managing a Better Distribution of Electricity: Integrating networked communications into the transmission system will help create a grid capable of better response time to large-scale and isolated-system failures, moving energy efficiently over long distances and addressing congestion issues. Increasing grid efficiency through re-automation and self-healing capabilities results in reduced energy generation and use. Power generation could be decreased by 3 to 5 percent by installing a smart grid capable of delivering only necessary electricity. Along with better building design, management and automation, the smart grid could save $20 to 25 billion in energy use. According to a study, consumers in the eastern United States pay $16.5 billion per year in higher electricity prices due to transmission congestion, a problem that would be largely resolved by an upgraded smart grid.


'The jobs of the future should all be good, green jobs, and by taking action now on broadband and other technologies, we are putting ourselves in a position to create jobs and lead the world in the race for a clean energy economy." - David Foster, Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance

Communications technology is essential to the functionality of the smart grid because it gathers the vast data generated by energy use and transforms this data into information for the consumer and the utility company. As such, the communication that is transmitted must be pervasive, rapid, scalable, secure, and robust at all times, especially during emergency situations.

Integration of Renewable Energy Resources During the Transmission of Electricity: Many renewable energy sources - such as wind, solar, and geothermal - are in isolated areas throughout the United States and are unable to connect effectively with our current power grid. A Department of Energy report found that it could be possible for 20 percent of the nation’s electricity demand to be met by wind sources in 2030 should these sources be all connected with a smart grid. Curently, one issue hindering wind energy is that a portion of these wind farms are located in remote areas, far from major centers of electricity demand.

By implementing advanced digital controls and technologies such as syncrophasors — precise grid measurements that indicate grid stress — throughout the transmission system, transmission operators will be able to use long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines to move energy from renewable energy source sites to distant distribution grids located at primary-use locations with far less energy loss than is currently possible.

In facilitating the integration of renewable energy resources into our energy distribution system, we can curtail the negative environmental side effects of our energy use. Smart grid improvements should be sequenced so that high-carbon resources are phased out as quickly as possible and replaced with a combination of lower carbon, renewable fuels. By enabling smart grid distribution, the United States can cut carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent. On the demand side, the Department of Energy has maintained, there are numerous environmental benefits that take place when we reduce the emissions of generation plants during peak periods.

Resources:
GetSmartGrid.Org -Smart Grid Facts
The Climate Group - SMART2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age
United States Department of Energy - Benefits of Demand Response in Electricity Market and Recommendations for Achieving Them
Joint System Coordination Plan 2008
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners - The Smart Grid: Frequently Asked Questions for State Commission

Smart Technologies that Reduce Energy Demand in the Home and Office


FCC Energy and Environment Director, Nick Sinai, who highlighted that consumers should be given "access and control of their digital energy information."

Since buildings in the United States account for approximately 39 percent of the nation’s total energy use, 72 percent of the electricity consumption and 38 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, smart technologies in the home are key to a greener future. By transforming the way people and businesses use technology, the United States can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 13 to 22 percent by 2020 — and potentially see gross energy and fuel savings of $140-240 billion.

Smart meters and dynamic pricing could give consumers the ability to track their own power usage and then provide a financial incentive to alter their energy consumption either by shifting away from periods of peak demand, purchasing more environmentally friendly and energy efficient appliances, or simply decreasing overall energy usage. As highlighted by FCC Energy and Environment Director Nick Sinai, consumers should be given "access and control of their digital energy information."

Smart Meters and Net Metering: With the right type of consumer protection and technological metrics in place, smart meters can help individuals purchase energy more efficiently. If built to connect in real time with a utility and smart grid through high-speed broadband, networked homes and offices can provide large economic and environmental pay-offs. Pilot programs and studies have demonstrated that consumers who track their energy use in real time and consequently make simple behavioral changes can save 5 to 15 percent on their electricity consumption, which amount to savings of $60 to $180 per year. Dynamic pricing to shift demand can also lead to a more reliable grid and reduce the risk of outages that are often costly to the economy.

A smart grid that extends its communications network to homes and buildings can turn these traditionally large energy users into potential energy producers. Such a grid could allow energy consumers to sell solar-based and other renewable energy back to the power grid, making such investments more economical and further decreasing the dependence on fossil fuel based power plants. For example, a home could be powered by its own solar energy during the day and then the consumer could sell any extra energy produced back to the larger grid, an option called “net metering."

Smart Buildings and Networked Homes: Further, allowing various building systems, including appliances, heating and cooling systems, to communicate and interact with each other through smart technologies will also reduce energy use and buildings’ negative impact on the environment.

The incorporation of networked technology into buildings can optimize their energy consumption by controlling multiple devices, improving the ability to monitor buildings, giving building owners and occupants more information about and control over their energy use, and integrating that use into the new smart grid. By using specialized software and broadband, smart buildings can make their own efficient energy use decisions. For instance, a smart building could potentially adjust the amount of indoor light being used based on the amount of sunlight coming through a window.

The Center of American Progress estimates that integrating smart technology into new construction or in the renovation of existing buildings can make them more environmentally friendly, saving the U.S. $20-25 billion and reducing carbon dioxide emissions between 130-190MMT.

Using Broadband Protocols: To facilitate networking of homes and avoid their obsolescence, meters should incorporate high-bandwidth technology using Internet protocols and an open architecture. As the New York Public Service Commission argued in a recent order governing smart meters, smart meter systems "must be designed to meet future requirements of the smart grid."

Resources:
United States Department of Energy - The Smart Grid: An Introduction
The Climate Group - SMART2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age
Pew Internet & American Life Project - Home Broadband Adoption 2009
U.S. Green Building Council - Green Building Research
Center for American Progress - It’s Easy Being Green: Smart Buildings for Future Skylines
State of New York Public Service Commission - Order Adopting Minimum Functional Requirements for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Systems and Initiating an Inquiry into the Benefit-Cost Methodologies

Broadband Applications to Reduce Travel and Fuel Costs


"The promise of the smart grid and fast broadband are applications, from telehealth to e-commerce, that will radically reduce energy costs by reducing both the need to travel and transport physical goods." - Nathan Newman, Executive Director of Progressive States Network

In addition to savings costs for homes and businesses, smart technologies provide a wide array of benefits for entrepreneurs, consumers, and workers. Congressman Markey stressed that information can be added to our home heaters, electricity suppliers, and vehicles. This Dispatch highlights a few of the smart technology applications that can be added to our work and life essentials:

Telehealth: Increased adoption of broadband technology and telehealth practices could decrease travel by allowing doctors to monitor and consult with patients remotely.

A Veterans Administration study reported a 40 percent cut in emergency room visits and a 63 percent reduction in hospital admissions resulting from its remote home monitoring system. Telehealth technologies could avoid 850,000 transports between emergency departments, resulting in transit cost savings of $537 million a year. For patients and doctors in rural areas, travel costs are being significantly reduced when they have access to high-speed broadband.

Aside from increased medical attention, telehealth improves the quality of care, facilitates a more dynamic interaction between medical provider and patient, and overall reduces the costs of the health care system. When telehealth reduces the need for or the distance related to medical attention, we inevitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption.

Business and Long Distance Communication Technology: The emergence of a global economy has increased the need for business travel, in many cases for long distances, which negatively affects the environment. Recent technological advancements, such as advanced video-based teleconferencing, have become viable substitutes. For instance, video conferencing expends 500 times less energy than a 1000 km [620 mile] business flight.Conducting virtual meetings to replace remote in person interactions could reduce 20-30 MMT of carbon dioxide emissions and provide gross savings of $5-10 billion from reduced spending on fuel for airplanes.

Broadband-supported applications can also help reduce everyday travel associated with employment. Telecommuting or flex work, combined with labor protections to prevent unmonitored “electronic sweatshops” from arising, can potentially be a key contributor to a greener economy.

E-Commerce: Since the inception of the Internet, electronic commerce (e-commerce) has grown exponentially, and entrepreneurs, including those in rural areas, can reach out to the entire connected world as a potential consumer base. This new business frontier not only allows businesses to expand beyond their reach, but it can also benefit the environment by reducing negative emissions associated with traditional off-line shopping.

In a range of areas, broadband applications are allowing e-distribution to replace the fuel-intensive physical distribution of physical goods. According to the California Broadband Initiative, if half of today’s movie rentals were accessed by video-on-demand, the country could save the equivalent of 200,000 households’ annual electricity consumption.

Ultimately, especially in applications like telehealth, deploying high-speed broadband is ultimately required to achieve the full life-saving, environmental, and economic benefits of these applications.

Resources:
The Climate Group - SMART2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age
Benton Foundation - Using Technology and Innovation to Address Our Nation’s Critical Challenges
Baller-Herbst Report - Bigger Vision, Bolder Action, Brighter Future: Capturing the Promise of Broadband for North Carolina and America
California Broadband Taskforce - Building Innovation through Broadband: Final Report of the California Broadband Task Force

The Pathway to Networking the Green Economy


"Every American family, business, and community must have access to affordable, world-class broadband networks but the U.S. unfortunately now ranks 16th in the world in broadband adoption." - Annie Hill, Executive Vice President of Communication Workers of America

In building the smart grid and using broadband technologies to green the economy, there are both challenges and opportunities. The opportunities are clear: investments made now will not only create immediate jobs in the economy but also build in long-term energy and economic savings that will pay back those investments many times over.

However, there are critical decisions to be made to assure that all members of our communities benefit from the transition, from eliminating the digital divide to protecting consumer interests to assuring that current workers in industries find new and better job opportunities. Any transition to smart grids and new energy management technologies should ensure that consumers and workers in the industry benefit from the economic savings and growth generated. So the following are a few key guidelines for policymakers:

Eliminate the Digital Divide: Despite the great potential to create jobs, lessen our dependency on foreign oil and save the environment, limited access to broadband is currently crippling the complex operations that the smart grid requires. Although broadband access has increased in recent years, broadband subscription rates still remain under 50 percent for some groups, including certain minority populations, rural communities, and households with incomes of less than $50,000 per year. To fully realize a robust green economic future, it will take a firm and long-standing commitment to extend transformative communication technologies, such as broadband, to all members of the community.
Invest in Infrastructure and Interoperability: While some industry interests would prefer proprietary systems to lock-in monopoly control and profits, the report stresses that both federal and state policy makers should place support networking infrastructure that is interoperable with existing broadband and Internet systems and where smart appliances and other technologies can work with each other without become obsolete.
Protect Consumers’ Interests: Smart meters and dynamic pricing that allow individuals to track their energy consumption and provide financial incentives for reduced energy use could result in savings for consumers. Nevertheless, consumer advocates worry that the costs of installing some current proprietary versions of smart meters could outweigh the savings that households would receive from reducing or shifting their energy usage, especially if those meters become technologically outdated and have to be replaced before any savings offset deployment costs. In addition, if the cost of electricity is dynamically priced throughout the day, this may not benefit, and could harm, consumers such as the elderly and ill, who are not able to alter their energy use. Thus, any smart meter deployment should be done in ways that do not increase costs for residents but instead ensure that any smart meters are deployed only when energy savings can fully cover costs for consumers.
Enhance Workers’ Rights: Annie Hill, Vice-President of the Communications Workers of America, confirmed, “Investments in the green economy — which includes more efficient use of resources and power — are the job creators of the 21^st Century." With more than 564,000 people working in the utility industry, the adoption of smart meters and smart grids will likely change the nature of the work for many front-line utility workers. Utility workers must receive training and other support necessary to learn the skills to work on new technologies and to build careers in the industry. As such, their employers should not use this transition to downgrade employment, outsource work, or evade union representation.
Preserve Existing Conservation Programs: States also need to learn from mistakes made during utility deregulation and in addition to investing in smart meters, maintain other energy efficiency programs that assist consumers in shifting towards less energy use and subsidize such shifts for low-income users. Between 1995 and 1999, driven by the deregulation of electricity markets, power companies in North America cut spending on energy efficiency programs by 42 percent. Any use of smart meters or dynamic pricing must be part of a broader regulated structure that maintains and expands those key energy-efficiency programs, especially for low-income families most in need of their support.

Resources:
Energy Efficiency.Net - Power Deregulation Fueled Pollution
The Center for American Progress - Smart Grid, Smart Broadband, Smart Infrastructure: Melding Federal Stimulus Programs to Ensure More Bang for the BuckUnited States Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources - Full Committee Oversight Hearing: to receive testimony on the process of smart grid initiatives and technologies
The Wall Street Journal - Smart Meter, Dumb Idea?

Conclusion: States Moving Forward on Networking the Green Economy


"With the smart grid, we partner the public utility with technology into something that builds jobs and brings costs down to consumers." - North Carolina State Senator Joe Sam Queen

Congressman Edward Markey could not sum it better, "broadband will revolutionize the way we communicate and generate electricity in this country." To achieve the environmental benefits associated with the digital infrastructure, devices, and applications, the United States needs to strengthen its broadband deployment and adoption. Broadband and information communication technologies have the potential of revolutionizing energy management and economic development.

Using Recovery Dollars for Deployment: The federal recovery plan included billions of dollars to encourage movement towards a smart grid in our nation. We have detailed a range of ways states are promoting Legislation to Promote Digital Leadership which has included both the creation of Broadband Strategy Councils to strengthen holistic planning and Digital Inclusion Policies to move towards universal adoption of broadband.
New Smart Grid Legislation: State legislators are introducing a range of legislation that support the deployment and funding of the smart grid, including bills in Kansas, California, Maine, New York, and Illinois.
Telehealth Policies: We've highlighted key policies to promote broadband applications like telehealth, including Reforming medical licensing rules to encourage long-distance medical consultations across state lines and changing Medicaid reimbursement rules to encourage its use. States should conduct studies and pilot programs to better estimate cost savings and the increased access to the quality care that telehealth provides.

In this vein, the panel last Thursday ended with the final remarks of North Carolina State Senator Joe Sam Queen, who is now working towards introducing smart grid legislation in his state. By bringing broadband players, utilities, consumers and other groups together, Senator Queen hopes to leverage the energy savings from building a smarter grid to help fund increasing broadband access -- a critical problem in a state with only 50% broadband adoption, particularly the rural communities which often have very low access to high-speed Internet.

Resources:
Progressive States Network - State Legislation to Promote Digital Leadership
Progressive States Network - Guiding Principles for Broadband Strategy Councils
Progressive States Network - Guiding Principles for Digital Inclusion Policies
Progressive States Network - Telehealth

Progressive States Network hosted a national conference call on Friday, March 12th at 1:00pm EST announcing the release of a new joint report, Networking the Green Economy: How Broadband & Related Technologies Can Build a Green Economic Future.

On the call, speakers from each organization discussed how smart buildings, smart grids, digital education, and other components of a highly-networked economy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy resources, and promote good green jobs.

Speakers included:

Allison Chin, President, Sierra Club
Debbie Goldman, Telecommunications Policy Director and Research Economist, Communications Workers of America
David Foster, Executive Director, Blue Green Alliance
Nathan Newman, Executive Director, Progressive States Network

To listen to the conference call, click here.

State Job Creation Strategies Part I: Finding the Money and Investing in Human Capital and Physical Infrastructure

Nathan Newman — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:59:28 -0500

The fundamental challenge in this recession is that the growth that preceded it was a mirage. Bubble era borrowing created a network of financial jobs, real estate jobs and construction jobs that collapsed with the end of the bubble. Many of those jobs will never return.

An extremely high proportion (75%) of job losses in this recession are permanent rather than temporary. States will need to nurture completely new industry sectors and the infrastructure to support those jobs, while the jobless will need retraining in new skills to participate in those sectors.

The Private Sector Can't Do it Alone: As the Economic Policy Institute wrote recently, "it is likely that unemployment will remain above 8% even two years from now in the absence of bold and decisive action to create jobs." With the credit crunch and the reduction in consumer demand, small businesses are experiencing tough times. In 2008, for example, 43,500 businesses filed for bankruptcy, up from 28,300 businesses in 2007 and more than double the 19,700 filings in 2006.

What's needed: As this Dispatch will highlight, the first step is to fund jobs that support long-term economic competitiveness, notably by investing in people and physical infrastructure. While the economic climate for profit-making business opportunities is more limited, investments in education, health care, transit and energy efficiency can create immediate jobs while strengthening building blocks for long-term growth.

Next week's Dispatch will be a second part of this series on how states can nurture startups, strengthen existing industry sectors, and promote green jobs in their states.

Mobilizing for a Federal Support for Jobs and State Fiscal Relief: As we highlighted two weeks ago, a critical part of job creation will be a new round of federal job creation and state fiscal relief. We are asking state legislators to sign onto a letter to promote this job creation plan at www.progressivestates.org/jobcreation or by emailing jobcreation@progressivestates.org. Advocates can sign onto a similar letter for organizations or use our handy online tool to contact their state legislators to let them know about the job creation letter and to encourage them to sign.

Resources:
Progressive States Network - Take Action: Additional Federal Job Creation and State Fiscal Relief Needed
Economic Policy Institute - American Jobs Plan: A Five Point Plan to Stem the U.S. Jobs Crisis
Center for Labor Market Studies (Northeastern Univ.) - The Great Recession of 2007-2009: Its Post-World War II Record Impacts on Rising Unemployment and Underutilization Problems Among U.S. Workers

Direct Public Money to Investments in Economic Growth

In the current economic and fiscal crisis, finding the funds for long-term investments is a challenge, but those investments will deliver both short-term jobs and long-term economic growth to turn state economies around. States need a balanced approach of revenue increases, bonds for long-term investments and tapping existing sources of state capital like state pension funds to marshal the capital needed for economic recovery.

Raise Revenues, Don't Cut Public Investments: The recession has made clear the hollowness of the bubble economy in many states, especially in some of the low-tax, low-investment Sunbelt states touted by anti-tax forces as exemplars of economic growth.

When measuring long-term economic competitiveness, states with some of the highest marginal tax rates on individuals -- from New York to Maryland -- were supporting some of the most innovative "new economy" industries in the country, according to a 2008 analysis by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. As we detailed last year, progressive tax increases to fund economic recovery are the better alternative to budget cuts. Many needed investments are in the fundamentals of education and infrastructure as well as in the nurturing of new sectors where private capital is unlikely to effectively step in. Increased tax revenue to fill in government and private sector gaps in investment is clearly needed.

Use State Bonding Authority: One obvious source for funding long-term growth projects are new bonds that can be paid back with the tax revenue yielded by greater economic growth. Especially where tolls or energy savings will directly return revenue to the state from bonded investments, legislative leaders are aggressively pursuing new bond investments.

The federal ARRA recovery plan provides a two-year 35% tax credit for state Build America Bonds, which is yielding record low interest rates for states that are issuing bonds. For example, Washington state received an interest rate equivalent to 3.52 percent on $500 million in bonds issued in October. To help municipal governments take advantage of lower interest rates and lower issuance costs, nearly a dozen states have created "state bond banks" to pool the loans of local governments.

A few examples of recent state bond discussions around the country include:

The Ohio House of Representatives has approved placing a $950 million bond issue on the May 4th ballot to renew for another five years the state’s largest economic development project, the Third Frontier, which invests in research and commercialization of technology in five industries sectors and created 41,300 jobs from 2003-2008.
Last week, the Washington State House Capital Budget Committee approved sending $861 million Jobs Act Bonds to voters in November to fund schools and colleges to fund energy upgrades. The sponsor, Rep. Hans Dunshee, estimates it would create 38,000 jobs and generate energy savings that will cover much of the interest costs.
Minnesota legislative leaders are proposing $1 billion in bonds to build and repair facilities around the state.

Use Pensions Funds for In-State Investments: Unwilling to rely on uncertain global investment markets to fuel economic growth, states are increasingly choosing to directly invest in local state businesses. Instead of giving away corporate welfare and subsidies, states can offer needed capital to create a financial stake in firms. If these businesses are successful, they return equity to taxpayers that can be reinvested in other projects.

One study found that the California Public Employees' Retirement System's in-state investments fed an estimated $15.1 billion into in-state economic activity in 2006 and created 124,000 jobs-- more jobs than the construction or motion picture industries. Other examples of in-state pension investments include:

Florida Governor Charlie Crist recently signed an economic stimulus plan for the state that redirects $1.95 billion of the state's pension fund into direct investments in Florida's economy.
Washington state held $1.4 billion in Washington-based investments at the end of 2008, using the money to leverage additional capital from other sources to invest in the state.
New York held $403.6 million as of March 2009 through its Common Retirement Fund with another $500 million available to invest in New York-based businesses.
The Invest Michigan! Fund features The Michigan Opportunities Fund and the Growth Capital Fund and is capitalized with $300 million from the state's pension fund.
In Indiana, the public pension funds collaborated with state universities and various health-based companies to launch the Indiana Future Fund, an investment fund designed to benefit Indiana companies, especially in the life sciences and high technology arena.

Avoid Privatization as a Funding Source: Given budget deficits, some states are being lured by the supposed "free lunch" offered by selling or leasing public assets to private firms with the promise of upfront private investment. Unfortunately, as we have detailed repeatedly (see here and here and here), privatization of public assets are inherently likely to ripoff the public to the benefit of private interests.

As detailed in a U.S. PIRG report last year, since governments can issue tax-free bonds at lower rates than private investors, "deals based on private capital are inherently more expensive than public financing." In 2008, Missouri was planning to use some form of privatization with investors to fund an ambitious plan to repair or replace 802 bridges. Now, the Missouri DOT is funding the entire project through the sale of government bonds.

Don't Waste Money on Direct Subsidies to Businesses: One general caution for states is to limit grants, tax credits and other giveaways to business. Instead use either direct equity investments or loans that are repaid in order to replenish the supply of public capital over the long-term.

States waste money competing for firms to cross the border from another state, rather than on fostering entrepreneurship and new jobs. A recent Good Jobs First report on high-tech deals by states notes that many are extremely costly. The poster children for bad deals are North Carolina's large subsidies to Dell Corporation, who took the money, but then sent the 900 jobs off-shore four years later and New York giving microchip maker AMD (later Global Foundries) $1 million in taxpayer funds for each job being created by the firm upstate. As the report states:

Tax reductions, exemption or credits “exert a very small marginal influence on corporate investment decisions because other cost factors such as labor, occupancy and other key inputs are far larger than taxes (or tax breaks)… For the vast majority of companies, tax breaks are windfalls, not determinants, and are therefore wasted.

Redeploy Wasted Corporate Giveaways to Real Public Investments: If states do a thorough review of ineffectual subsidies, costly contracting out, and tax credits, they can generate additional revenue that can be used for more effective job creation efforts. Progressive States Network has worked with allies to outline model Corporate Transparency in the State Budget legislation and set up a supporting campaign webpage to help achieve that goal.

As the rest of this Dispatch emphasizes, states can better invest scarce public dollars in upgrading the quality of the workforce and infrastructure, rather than engaging in costly bidding wars with other states for jobs.

Resources:
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation - The 2008 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the States
U.S. PIRG - Private Roads, Public Costs: The Facts About Toll Road Privatization and How to Protect the Public
Council of Development Finance Agencies - State Bond Banks: Municipal Borrowing Made Easy
CALPERS - CalPERS - An Economic Engine
Good Jobs First - Growing Pennsylvania's High-Tech Economy: Choosing Effective Investments
Progressive States Network - Corporate Transparency in State Budgets

Invest in People- the Key Engine of Growth

In a global economy where the quality of the workforce increasingly determines the standard of living, investing in an educated and healthy population is key to promoting state economic growth.

Invest in Education: One of the largest successes of the recovery plan has been preventing massive teacher layoffs and creating or preserving 250,000 education positions. Additional federal help will be needed to stave off reductions in the coming years, but it is a marked success that despite the largest downturn in post-war history, the core educational infrastructure of our nation has been preserved.

Why this is so important is highlighted by a number of recent studies that emphasize that investments in education have clear dollar returns to state governments.

Each new high school graduate yields a net public benefit of $127,000 or 2.5 times the cost of needed public investments, according to a Columbia Teachers College report. In fact, cutting in half the number of high school dropouts would yield $45 billion in extra tax revenues. High school graduates themselves will earn $117,000-$322,000 more in their lifetimes than dropouts, with female college graduates, for example, earning $800,000 more than dropouts.
As we detailed last spring, early education investments in particular show long-term economic payoffs. A recent Cornell University study found that funds spent in the early education sector have more stimulative effect on the economy than most other spending. Early education programs help parents take advantage of opportunities in the workforce and child care improves parents' productivity at work. One study by the business-backed Committee for Economic Development, estimated that for every dollar invested in preschool, there was an expected return of $2 to $4 in future societal benefits.

Part of youth education is giving them entry-level job training. The federal recovery plan helped revive summer youth job programs across the country, offsetting massive youth unemployment in the private sector. The Idaho Labor Department sponsored its first youth employment program in over a decade.

Support Worker Retraining: While training can't create jobs, it can ensure that workers who are unlikely to be reemployed in their old industry sectors have a chance to be reemployed somewhere else -- and that vibrant industries have the skilled workforce needed to expand in a state.

A Michigan Council for Labor and Economic Growth study found that a five percent increase in college-educated adults would boost economic growth by 2.5% over ten years and real wages by 5.5%. Similarly, studies show that just helping workers get their GED significantly boosts their employment in the long-term. Notably, a study by the National Skills Coalition (formerly the Workforce Alliance) found that even as unemployment mounted in summer 2009, 60% of employers still had trouble finding qualified applicants for the vacancies they did have -- emphasizing the lack of fit in skills between those laid off and the sectors where growth is likely to occur.

In our Dispatch Averting Layoffs and Revitalizing the Manufacturing Economy, we highlighted a range of best practices through which states can both work to avert impending layoffs and use rapid-response to help employees get new jobs or enter retraining programs as quickly as possible. These include Rapid Response programs used by some states to on-site contact with employees before layoffs, accessing training programs like Trade Adjustment Aid, working with communities to tailor training and placement programs, as well as promoting Peer Networks to train groups of workers during layoffs to collect information from fellow workers, help connect them with community services, promote job referrals, and work with community leaders.

Fund Health Care and Support the Safety Net: Health care and other safety net spending is not just a public expense; it is also itself an investment in economic growth. A healthier workforce means greater economic productivity and more years of productive labor. And the health care industry is itself a source of good quality jobs.

A few years ago, a Commonwealth Fund study estimated that labor time lost due to health reasons totalled $260 billion per year. And unhealthy workers often have lower productivity at work. In fact, because people are living and working longer, long-term economic growth is likely to be far higher than many current government projections, according to a recent study by North Carolina State University. "Spending on health care productivity, biomedical research and universal health care should be considered an investment that will eventually lead to increased economic growth," argues co-author Dr. Al Headen. The payoffs are likely to be more taxes paid, more consumer spending and far lower public expenditures on programs like Medicare than currently assumed.

Another remarkable accomplishment of the federal-state partnership in the last year has been not only preservation of basic health care spending for low-income families, but the expansion of SCHIP programs for children and COBRA subsidies for the unemployed. This is in sharp contrast to the recession in the early part of this decade when literally millions of people lost publicly funded health coverage. Maintaining health programs will continue to be a challenge for states -- and new federal funds are a key part of that solution -- but it should be considered a key part of long-term investments in a healthy workforce.

Integrate New Immigrants into the Economy: As we emphasized last week, keeping an estimated 12 million people in the shadows of the economy is bad for them, bad for native workers and bad for the U.S. economy. A recent report estimated that immigration reform that integrates new immigrants into the U.S. economy would create $1.5 trillion in added GDP over ten years and newly legalized workers would increase tax revenues by up to $5.4 billion in the first three years. Another study by the CATO Institute found that legalization would boost the incomes of U.S. households by $180 billion annually by 2019.

Across the board, the goal should be to maximize the productivity of all workers in our economy and produce the most economically competitive workforce in the world.

Resources:
Progressive States Network - Early Education Investments: Economic Importance and Policy Implementation
Columbia Teachers College Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education - An Excellent Education for All of America's Children
Workforce Alliance - Job Training is Key to Success of Jobs Bill: Analysis and Recommendations
Progressive States Network - State Action for the Unemployed
National Employment Law Project - Rapid Response Training Overview
Michigan's Human Resource Development Institute - Peer Networks
Commonwealth Fund - Health and Productivity Among U.S. Workers
Council for Labor and Economic Growth - Transforming Michigan’s Adult Learning Infrastructure
Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center - Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Cato Institute - Restriction or Legalization? Measuring the Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform
North Carolina State University - Study shows health care spending spurs economic growth

Creating a 21st Century Infrastructure in the States

“As a country, we’re deluding ourselves if we think we have put enough into infrastructure," notes the Urban Land Institute. "We’ve been under-investing for 30 years.” As a percentage of gross domestic product, infrastructure spending actually has been declining since 1959. A 2009 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assessment calculates that $2.2 trillion is needed for infrastructure repairs and upgrades just in the next five years. In contrast, China has committed $259 billion to its plans for building the world's largest high-speed rail system -- with trains going up to 218mph -- and plans to add another half trillion dollars in the next few years for a total investment to $730 billion by 2012. That's more than the entire 2009 federal recovery plan.

The federal recovery plan had $132 billion for infrastructure of all kinds, from roads to transit to smart energy grids, but that's a tiny part of what is needed for the U.S. to retain global competitiveness.

More and Better State Transit: Focus on repairing existing infrastructure, strengthen gateway infrastructure in ports and cities which are the focus of global shipping and travel, and reconfigure suburbs to better integrate regional economies.

Public Transit Investments are a Key Job Creator: One clear lesson from the recovery plan, according to a recent report, is that money spent on public transit yields nearly twice the jobs compared to similar amounts spent on highway projects. This result is due to the fact that public transit spends less money on real land costs and supports vehicle manufacturing and maintenance jobs. It also especially helps low-income workers save money in getting access to jobs where transit integrates communities. One innovative, lower-cost transit approach is bus rapid transit (BRT), which builds separated lanes for larger buses that can move at speeds approaching subway lines. Pioneered in Ottawa, Canada and Adelaide, Australia, similar systems are spreading to Latin America, China, India and Mexico. In the U.S., Los Angeles and Boston have adopted BRT principles and Chicago will be inaugurating BRT service in 2010.
Integrate transit with land use planning: Building transit in the middle of sprawl does little to ease congestion; instead transit funding needs to be linked to development planning that integrates transit with access to jobs and retail. The Denver region is a notable success story in using transit and land use zoning to reclaim its urban downtown, adding a 122-mile light rail system, instituting a Bus Rapid Transit system to link to nearby Boulder, and linking the urban core to multiple town centers in the surrounding suburbs.
Strategically Apply User Fees to Fund Infrastructure: The Urban Land Institute emphasizes that more of the costs of transit infrastructure will inevitably need to be borne by consumers in the form of higher gas taxes, tolls and congestion pricing in urban areas. This needs to be combined with targeted tax relief to ease the burden on low-income families. The reality is that gas taxes in the U.S. are far smaller than European economic competitors, who use those revenues to fund far more robust transit upgrades across their continent.

Broadband and Smart Grid Investments: Despite the U.S. playing a key role in creation of the Internet, a study by the International Telecommunications Union found that the United States now ranks 17th in global broadband penetration. Lack of affordable broadband access undermines the international competitiveness of our communities and workforce. The $7.2 billion of direct broadband funding in the federal recovery plan and pockets of other funding for digital infrastructure throughout the ARRA also emphasized broadband as a catalyst for spurring job creation and economic growth.

A number of state legislators have created Broadband Strategy Councils to focus on using those and internal state funds to increase access to and adoption of affordable broadband. Beyond investing in physical infrastructure, increasing digital literacy is a key investment as well. During the 2008 legislative session Washington state passed SB 6438, which created a statewide high-speed Internet development process and established the Community Technology Opportunity Program (CTOP) that will provide resources for capacity-building and grant-giving to Community Technology programs that provide hands-on technology access and training to residents.

Water Systems: Many cities and regions are using old water systems desperately in need of repairs and upgrading. Nationwide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects a $224 billion funding gap between 2000 and 2019 between what states are spending and federal requirements for water quality. Part of the solution are new policies to reduce wasteful water use, since per capita domestic water consumption in the U.S. is more than twice as much as most global competitors-- and more than four times the use by citizens of Great Britain and China.

In California, where some water bills can approach $500 a month, jurisdictions began to require retrofitting homes on resale. Development needs to be restricted in areas lacking water systems, since such growth just dumps costs on government and leads to underfunding water systems in established areas.

Infrastructure Projects already approved: Some notable examples of integrated infrastructure investment programs around the country include:

Illinois Department of Transportation has $3.1 billion in committed projects in 2009. In addition, Illinois is creating a major “inland port” with the development of Union Pacific's new intermodal facility in Joliet that will create an estimated 7,000 jobs.
Iowa's I-Jobs program approved last year has created a three-year, $830 million investment in Iowa’s infrastructure using existing gaming revenue including public improvements, community colleges, veterans homes ($285 million), disaster recovery and prevention ($165 million), improving transportation infrastructure ($115 million), rebuilding universities ($115 million), improving environment and water quality ($80 million), and enhancing telecommunications and renewable energy ($35 million).
Oregon's Job and Transportation Act invests more than $1 billion to address all sectors of Oregon's transportation system, including roads, bridges, bike and pedestrian facilities, mass transit, railroads, ports and airports. Green aspects of the bill included multi-modal transportation, increased transit funding, planning for greenhouse gas reduction scenarios, a congestion pricing pilot project, and an urban trail fund for non-motorized vehicles and pedestrians.

The key to long-term growth is moving infrastructure investments from one-off projects towards integrated investments that connect them into a holistic plan for growth. As Robert Puentes of the Brookings Institution said this past year at a Congressional hearing, "the problem is that there is too little integrated decision making that crosses disciplines and joins-up solutions in infrastructure investments." To achieve maximum effectiveness, transit and other infrastructure investments need to be coordinated not only with each other, but also with land use and housing decisions.

Next Week: State Job Creation Strategies Part II: Supporting Innovation, Industrial Clusters & Green Job Creation

Resources:
Urban Land Institute - Infrastructure 2009: Pivot Point
American Society of Civil Engineers - Report Card for America's Infrastructure with State and Local Report Cards
U.S. PIRG, Smart Growth America, CNT - What We Learned from the Stimulus: And how to use what we learned to speed job creation in the 2010 jobs bill
Progressive States Network - Making Broadband a Key Part of States' Economic Recovery

Washington State Legislature Passes Legislation Aimed at Increasing both Access and Adoption of Broadband

PSN — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:10:00 -0400

With the passage of HB 1701 the Washington State legislature once again demonstrated its understanding that when combating the digital divide states must not just address access issues, but must also focus on dealing with the barriers to broadband adoption by individuals. In addition to hoping to increase high-speed Internet access for residents, businesses, educational institutions, public health and safety services, local governments and community organizations, HB 1701 also lists a menu of the types of digital inclusion programs that should be implemented in Washington State. By addressing both access and adoption barriers directly Washington State hopes to ensure that all residents can be active participants in our 21st century digital society. According to Jonathan Lawson, Executive Director of Reclaim the Media, "connecting all our communities with fast broadband is a compelling public need -- to allow everyone to take part in our digital democracy, culture and economy. This new legislation clears a path for us to follow towards that goal."

Broad Coalition in Support: The bill originally sponsored by Representatives Hudgins, Hasegawa and McCoy and incorporating amendments championed by Senators Kohl-Welles and Kastama was supported by a broad coalition of advocates, such as the Communication Workers of America (CWA), the Communities Connect Network and carriers and includes investments in digital training and inclusion programs. According to CWA's Washington State Council Political Director, Gail Love, "the broad coalition of organizations that lobbied on behalf of HB1701 has not always viewed issues from the same perspective. However, on HB1701, we found common ground. Bringing high-speed broadband accessibility to the residents of Washington will enhance their lives socially and economically and will bring jobs and new business to our region."

Capitalizing on Recovery Funds: The legislation was drafted, in part, so that the state could capitalize on the approximately $7.2 billion in the ARRA earmarked for broadband initiatives. Aside from authorizing the Governor to take steps to carry out the purposes of the broadband provisions in the ARRA, HB 1701 has three major provisions: a data collection and mapping initiative, the establishment of the Community Technology Opportunity Program, and the reconstituting of the state's high-speed Internet working group.

Collection and Mapping of Access and Adoption Data: HB 1701 designates the Department of Information Services (DIS) as the eligible entity in the state to apply for funds under the federal Broadband Data Improvement Act. In addition, the bill directs DIS to develop a map of where broadband services are and are not currently available in Washington State and "to work with other agencies to identify the communities most in need of new or additional broadband Internet services." Specifically, the legislation states that depending on the availability of federal or state funding, the department may develop an interactive web site to allow residents to self-report whether high-speed Internet is available at their residence and at what speed; may conduct a detailed survey of all high-speed Internet infrastructure owned or leased by state agencies; and is authorized, through a competitive bidding process, to procure a geographic information system map detailing high-speed Internet infrastructure, service availability, and adoption. The department may either contract for and purchase a completed map from a third party or work directly with the federal communications commission. In addition, the department may prepare regular reports that identify the geographic areas of greatest priority for the deployment of advanced telecommunications infrastructure and a detailed explanation of how federal funding for broadband mapping, deployment, or adoption will be or has been used.

One concern advocates voiced regarding the bill is that data collected from private providers will be considered 'proprietary' information and therefore not accessible to the public. Advocates in the state and nationally argue that such an approach lacks transparency, leaves the public unable to verify the collected information, and public policy researchers unable to access the date necessary to study which broadband policies are most effective. On a positive note, however, the legislation does establish an important accountability and oversight structure to ensure that there is transparency in the bidding and contracting process and full financial and technical accountability for any information or actions taken by a third-party contractor creating the map.

Digital Inclusion: The legislation recommits Washington State to addressing broadband utilization barriers by moving the Community Technology Opportunity Program (CTOP) under the Department of Information Services. The CTOP uses a competitive grant program to encourage broadband adoption in low-income and underserved areas of the state. Initiatives facilitated by the program include Internet adoption, training, and skill-building opportunities; access to hardware and software; digital inclusion and digital media literacy; development of locally relevant content; and delivery of vital services through technology. The CTOP will also provide organizational and capacity building support to community technology programs throughout the state. According to Betty Buckley, executive director of Communities Connect Network, a national leader in promoting digital inclusion programs and creating state demand-side policy, "HB 1701 takes another significant step forward in building the policy framework for how our state will ensure digital inclusion for all. Passing this bill in the current economic climate speaks volumes about the strength of the multi-faceted broadband coalition we’ve build here in Washington State."

Reconstituting the State's High-Speed Internet Working Group: The law allows for the continuation of the high-speed Internet working group, under the new title, the Council on Digital Inclusion. As the council's new name denotes, the group will now focus on broadband adoption, not just deployment issues. The Council on Digital Inclusion will have representatives from government, educational, public health and industry sectors, and will advise DIS and further strategize about expanding broadband deployment and adoption across the state.

Resources:

House Bill 1701
Increase Technology Literacy and Inclusion
Reclaim the Media
Community Connect Network

Mapping and Deploying High-Speed Broadband

PSN — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:59:00 -0500

Despite claims by the Bush administration that most Americans now have access to affordable broadband, many people might disagree and would probably argue that their Internet access is to slow and to expensive. Most analysts are nowhere near as optimistic as Bush's "Networked Nation: Broadband in America." These analysts highlight that the U.S. has fallen to 15th in world rankings for broadband connectivity and that Americans pay much higher fees for much slower speeds than most of the industrial nations in the world. Misguided regulatory policies and substandard infrastructure have helped create a sub-par broadband network in the United States.

As we have discussed in the past, broadband is an essential component of economic development, long-term energy savings and health care cost containment. With studies showing economic growth happening disproportionately in communities with strong broadband deployment, the lack of affordable and accessible broadband Internet in much of the United States is unacceptable.
Since federal broadband policy is not working, states have taken steps to determine which areas and residents are under-served and created policies to make affordable and reliable broadband Internet a reality for their citizens. For example, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine,Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina,Ohio, South Carolina, and Vermont have created new bodies to focus on broadband. On the other hand, some states have adopted "state video franchising" legislation that has undercut local protections without creating the needed state regulations to bridge the digital divide. This Stateside Dispatch will highlight new state initiatives that are addressing these challenges of mapping broadband access, increasing broadband deployment in the states, and what standards video franchising bills should meet to maintain essential consumer protections.
Resources:
Progressive States - Broadband for Economic Growth & Energy Savings
Progressive States - Universal and Affordable Broadband in the States
Free Press - State Policy Tracker
Communication Workers of America - SpeedMatters: Affordable High Speed Internet for All (October 2006)
Free Press - Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America, Broadband Reality Check II: The Truth Behind America's Digital Decline (September 2006)
US Dept. of Commerce - "Measuring Broadband's Economic Impact" (2006)
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights - "Are We Really A Nation Online? Ethnic and Racial Disparities in Access to Technology and Their Consequences" (2005)

Broadband Mapping

Today, there is a digital divide between people who do and people who do not have access to - and the capability to use - broadband Internet. Too many Americans, especially those in rural areas or low-income households, do not have any Internet access. Since the federal government's data on who has Internet access is notoriously incomplete, the first step to providing broadband Internet to under-served residents is for states to create broadband maps, to track broadband penetration levels, and determine where broadband Internet access is lacking.
Only a handful of states have attempted to map broadband service. The most publicized model for bringing broadband connectivity to rural and under-served areas is ConnectKentucky. According to comments by the CWA, "ConnectKentucky produced the first comprehensive Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based county-by-county inventory of existing broadband infrastructure and service availability." ConnectKentucky has now rebranded itself as Connected Nation and implementing its Kentucky model in multiple states. States such as Maine, Arizona, Illinois, Tennesse, Washington, and West Virginia, have or are considering utilizing the Connect Nations model.
Some criticisms of the ConnectKentucky model include that it has overstated results, that the data it produces is not fully in the public domain, and the measurements of "broadband access" do not fully distinguish between fast broadband and bare minimum broadband. To address these concerns and to counteract the fact that broadband providers exercise large degrees of control over the mapping, state legislatures need to create clear regulatory guidelines in new legislation to assure that carriers give more detailed information and that the public has access to the data collected.
Other states have improved upon Kentucky's model and utilized more granular data to map broadband infrastructure. This more granular data provides a more accurate picture of who has broadband access in their states and how fast that access really is:

In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Broadband Task Force, offers data about broadband access as granular as the household-level. Broadband providers in the state worked with the task force in creating the maps. According to InfoWorld, while in the past providers have been weary about sharing such precise information, the task force alleviated these concerns by allowing the "providers to give their data confidentially to a third-party aggregator."

Another useful model, from the 2007 session, was Maryland's House Bill 1069. This bill, if enacted, would have required any company offering high-speed broadband (defined at a more realistic level of at least 768kbps) to report down to the zip code-plus 4 level who has access; the percentage of households that subscribe to the provider's broadband service; the upload and download data transmission speeds that are available to customers in the broadband provider's service territory; the average price per megabyte; and report new services and upgrades to existing broadband services.

Resources:

Public Knowlege - Maryland, My Maryland-- A New Broadband Approach

Public Knowledge and Art Brodsky - Connect Kentucky Provides Uncertain Model for Federal Legislation

APT-CWA -  Briefing on ConnectKentucky

ConnectKentucky broadband inventory maps

Final Report of the California Broadband Task Force - State of Connectivity: Building Innovation Through Broadband

California Broadband Report Offers Model for Other States

Connected Tennessee

ConnectMe Authority

Broadband Deployment
Once under-served populations are determined, states must deploy broadband Internet to these individuals. Despite the fact that the Internet has become a standard medium for everyday communication and transactions, most states do not have strong broadband infrastructures and service providers are hesitant to expand their networks to non-traditional sectors that may not be as profitable.
The Electronic Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Act (ETOPIA), is a model of broadband Internet deployment that garnered a lot of attention when proposed in West Virginia. The state legislature passed the ETOPIA bill, Senate Bill 748, but the Governor vetoed the legislation. If enacted, the bill would have created a think-tank to explore the best-practices for creating public-private broadband partnerships. The state would then implement these partnerships for the benefit of the its citizens and the economy. The bill emphasized how a strong broadband infrastructure would lead to advancements in telemedicine and e-learning. Additionally, the bill would have given local governments the necessary authority to create public-private partnerships to provide broadband network services. The state would issue bonds to initially fund the technology infrastructure, and it seems a long-term goal of the ETOPIA legislation is for the infrastructure to become a revenue stream and therefore the infrastructure will not have to be maintained by state tax dollars.
This legislative session Representative Rice of Rhode Island, proposed H 7120, which is similar to the ETOPIA model seen in West Virginia. The bill proposes to create an "Innovation Center" to encourage the development and implementation of technology infrastructure for use throughout the state. The Center would study technology within the state and recommend upgrades, options, and strategies for encouraging technology partnerships among state government, local government, private business, and institutions of higher education. This bill, if enacted, would be an essential component to ensuring that all Rhode Island residents have access to affordable and reliable broadband Internet.
State legislators are not the only actors focusing on expanding broadband Internet on a state level. Some governors have taken steps to address the digital divide, issuing executive orders focused on creating affordable and accessible broadband Internet for all state residents. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger created the Broadband Task Force to "implement proposals to bridge the digital divide"; Illinois Governor Blagojevich created a Broadband Deployment Council; Ohio Governor Strickland signed an executive order to "coordinate and expand access to the state's broadband data network," and to establish the Ohio Broadband Council and the Broadband Ohio Network; and New York Governor Spitzer recently announced the importance that he places on developing statewide broadband. With Governors making broadband deployment a priority and establishing funding to address the digital divide, there is plenty of room for state legislators to make real inroads in expanding broadband infrastructure and capitalizing upon emerging technology.
Resources:
A Blueprint for Big Broadband
Center for Policy Alternative - Municipal Wireless Internet
Ars Technica - WV Gov't May Experiment with Broadband Service as a Public Utility
Rice Bill Would Make R.I. First State to Go Fully 'Wi-Fi'
States Consider Options in Extending Broadband Access

Funding Mapping and Deployment
Recently, states have come to see the Internet as a necessary utility like water and electricity or as critical infrastructure like roads and ports. Just like any other form of infrastructure, a broadband infrastructure will require funding.
The most comprehensive state funding plan, to date, was suggested by the California Broadband Task Force. The plan included bond, grant, and tax-incentive initiatives  as well increased use of rights-of-way. The need for continued commitment to research and development of broadband and associated applications was also highlighted. Additionally, California has an Emerging Technology Fund, a non-profit corporation established through state telecommunication merger requirements, whose objective is to combat the digital divide by deploying services to under-served populations.
Some states, those with less available resources than California, have successfully enacted broadband mapping and deployment programs, by appropriating money from both general state funds and from penalties levied on telecommunication carriers/providers for state law infringements.

For example, in Illinois the legislators funding of the High Speed Internet Services and Information Act came from "re-direction of $4 million from the Eliminate the Digital Divide Infrastructure Funds from Illinois Commerce Commission, coming from the Telecom Rewrite Act of 2001."

In Maine, the funding mechanism for the ConnectME Authority (the agency running the ConnectMe) is a "0.25% surcharge on all communications, video, and Internet service bills for retail instate service. The fund received $500,000 in "seed money" from the Maine Universal Service Fund."

The Michigan Broadband Development Authority (MBDA), created to spur private sector investment in broadband, chose to initially capitalize broadband programs by tapping into the the state's housing authority. MBDA received its seed money through a housing authority $50 million bond sale. Then in 2005, in order to expand broadband access in rural areas Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan released her Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI).

In Kentucky, broadband mapping and deployment began under unusual circumstances. The Public Service Commission decided to use money that BellSouth owed, because they had made more money then they were permitted to, for broadband build-out. After the first evaluation period, it was decided that the program should be continued.
Other states have utilized matching funds as a way to spur investment in broadband. For example, in 2006 Idaho created a $5 million matching fund to encourage broadband deployment.
Resources:
A Blueprint for Big Broadband
Illinois Bill Writes in Digital Divide
Technology for Humanity
Annual Report on the Activities of the ConnectME Authority
A Blueprint for Big Broadband
Illinois Bill Writes in Digital Divide
Technology for Humanity
Annual Report on the Activities of the ConnectME Authority
Public Knowledge and Art Brodsky - Connect Kentucky Provides Uncertain Model for Federal Legislation

Regulatory Standards for Video Franchise Legislation

In theory, statewide video franchises, which create a single statewide simplified process of offering video services, could have benefits for the public, such as increasing competition. Unfortunately, however, the legislation enacted so far does not include strong enough consumer protections or broadband deployment requirements. The public services lost by state video franchising bills, outweigh any potential gains that might result due to increased competition.
Under state video franchises, providers need to secure only one permit instead of a permit for each individual community. Therefore, state video franchising takes control away from the local municipalities, reduces consumer protections, and undermines local deployment requirements. In the past, municipalities have leveraged permits for cable companies to use public rights-of-way, as a means to demand carriers supply certain public interest services. States have not taken the same initiative to negotiate franchise agreements which protect necessary public services that are in the public interest. At the close of the 2007 legislative session approximately 15 states had enacted some form of video franchising bills. While some of these bills offered limited PEG (public access and government channels) or build-out requirements, all fell short of adequately protecting the public interest.
The major public interest elements that should be included in any video franchising bill are protection of PEG channels; broadband access provided for certain public institutions, like schools; strong build-out requirements; and ongoing regulation of the industry by state authorities to ensure that the entire community, not just the wealthy are offered service. If states must consider state franchising bills, they should set higher consumer protections standards in the legislation.
The best model video franchise bill proposed so far is New York's AO1423, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, has adequate build-out standards, requiring companies receiving statewide franchises to make service available to large communities across New York within 3 years and to small communities within 6 years. The bill would also protect certain municipal regulatory powers, strong local franchise fees, a set number of PEG channels, provide other high-speed Internet services for local communities, and establish network neutrality provisions.
Resources:
Free Press - Video Franchising
Wisconsin Technology Network

Conclusion

After years of neglect by federal leaders, states are taking action on broadband policy but they need to leverage opportunities for success: mandatory mapping of what broadband services are really available to their citizens, requiring real build-out requirements in any video franchising laws, and creating comprehensive state plans for broadband expansion.