So, once again I'm surfing along looking for interesting broadband tidbits, and I come along this article at NewsObserver.com. You can see from the first paragraph of the article why it peaked my interest:

The United States can ill afford the passing of another year without policies that will stimulate broadband growth, particularly in previously underserved or overlooked areas. Much consensus building has occurred around broadband policy needs during this Congress. The time for action is now.

Connected Nation is the organization behind the much ballyhooed ConnectKentucky effort - a program some think should serve as a blueprint to implementing broadband throughout the nation:

The report details the potential state-by-state impact of legislation to accelerate broadband access and use based on the impact of its first state-based program, ConnectKentucky - "By surveying consumer savings in time, miles driven and healthcare and by calculating the impact on job creation/retention, the report projects the estimated annual economic benefit for Kentucky. From this data, Connected Nation extrapolated the economic impact of modest growth in broadband adoption for each state and the country as a whole."

Now I know this type of "extrapolating" can be hit or miss (see 'muni-fi bandwagon'), and the fact the numbers come from not an independent study but from the organization itself will lead some to question or dismiss the numbers put up in the report. But, for the moment, let's assume the report doesn't pull numbers out of its derriere like certain other recent reports. To that end, this report does cite a study by the Brookings Institution, who developed a formula "gauging the growth in jobs that can be associated with growth in broadband adoption. This study uses the Brookings Institution formula along with direct consumer surveys to estimate the direct economic impacts associated with employment, time saved, direct consumer healthcare savings and economic and environmental impact of fewer miles being driven due to online activity enabled by broadband."

First, let's see what Connected Nation says about its ConnectKentucky efforts:

Exactly how ConnectKentucky works is described in the report -
Now we can check out the numbers claimed in this report:

According to this report, "Kentucky’s growth in rural broadband is even more striking considering that Kentucky ranks 48th in educational attainment and 47th in median income in the nation - two indicators that have been shown to significantly affect broadband adoption. Indeed, a 2006 GAO report showed that households with high incomes were 39% more likely to adopt broadband than lower-income households, and those with a college-educated head of household were 12% more likely to purchase broadband than households headed by someone who did not graduate from college.

A 2006 GAO report concluded that “when the availability of broadband to households, as well as demographic characteristics, are taken into account, rural households no longer appear less likely than urban households to subscribe to broadband. That is, the difference in the subscribership to broadband among urban and rural households appears to be related to the difference in availability of the service across these areas, and not to a lower disposition of rural households to purchase the service. Therefore, it appears that with the universal availability of broadband, the current 31% rural broadband adoption rate would eventually become much closer to the urban broadband adoption rate of 52%."



The Connected Nation study says that if every state were to use broadband initiatives similar to ConnectKentucky, they could be expectd to gain:

• $92 billion through an additional 2.4 million jobs per year created - The seven percentage point growth in broadband adoption in
Kentucky over the expected has resulted in an additional 63,417 jobs created or saved in Kentucky between 2005 and 2007. The average annual economic value of these jobs can be estimated at $1.06 billion in direct wages.

• $662 million saved per year in reduced healthcare costs - According to the 2007 ConnectKentucky Residential Technology Assessment, 72% of home broadband users who use the Internet for healthcare purposes report that access to online health information has empowered them to become healthier. Of the residents who have become healthier, 63% report that doing so has saved them money, with an average self-reported savings of $217 per person.

• $6.4 billion per year in mileage savings from unnecessary driving - The ability to conduct transactions online also means that Kentuckians with broadband spend less time in their cars. Instant information and broadband-based access to relevant government services means not having to stand in line at shops and at town hall. In the 2007 ConnectKentucky residential survey, 66% of broadband users report driving an average of 102 fewer miles per month because of their online activity. This yields a total annual savings of more than 1.2 billion vehicle miles. Of these savings, approximately 190 million miles per year can be attributed to larger than expected growth in broadband adoption.

• $18 million in carbon credits associated with 3.2 billion fewer lbs of CO2 emissions per year in the United States - According to the World Resources Institute, the average 2005 fuel fleet economy was 21 miles per gallon. According to the Center for Environmental Economic Development, 1 gallon of gas equates to 5.159 lbs. of carbon. Given these figures and the savings of 190 million vehicle miles attributed to broadband adoption above expected, it can be estimated that ConnectKentucky efforts generated an annual reduction of 46.7 million pounds of carbon emissions.

• $35.2 billion in value from 3.8 billion more hours saved per year from accessing broadband at home - Broadband
users are significantly more likely than dial-up users to agree that doing things online saves them time. Broadband users report saving nearly 40% more time than dial-up users. The average broadband user reports saving 15 hours a month by conducting transactions online. The time saved by the additional 297,000 individuals accessing broadband in Kentucky above the expected amount translates into approximately 53.4 million hours saved each year. Assuming that one hour saved is equal in value to at least one half hour of wage earned, these saved hours can account for an estimated $429.8 million in value.

The total estimated impact of continuing the ConnectKentucky program in Kentucky is $1.59 billion annually. The total direct economic impact of accelerating broadband across the United States would be $134 billion per year.

This based upon just a 7 percentage point increase in broadband in every state. I know I bang on rural broadband a lot, and the numbers show that rural broadband would be the facet that would see the biggest growth. This is just common sense, really, since rural areas are the least covered areas. But never the less, seeing that the national average for rural broadband growth is (according to the report) 72% while Kentucky has seen 106% growth in the same area is pretty impressive to someone who harps on the need for rural broadband expansion and the need for a national broadband policy that would facilitate such growth.

As the Connected Nation report states, "Many have recognized the need for a national broadband policy. The case for such a policy has been eloquently captured in Dr. Robert Atkinson’s recent “Framing a National Broadband Policy.” In that report, Dr. Atkinson suggests that if left to market forces alone and with no intervening factor, broadband is not likely to be adopted at a rate that is universally pleasing or constructive. It stands to reason that national policy-makers would make broadband expanding policy a priority as a platform for developing solutions in a number of critical areas: healthcare, education, environmental degradation and even homeland security.

You would think, yes. But as I have pointed out before, broadband is an invisible issue right now. That, and the big providers will not stand for something like this. That's what they pay their lobbyists to prevent. The last thing they want is a cohesive push by the federal or state government to interfere with their grip on the industry, leaving them to fight their little turf wars on their own terms. Wars even for areas that will never see the broadband light of day from these providers.

But, as this report concludes: "As federal policy attempts to provide solutions to the need for a nationwide ubiquitous broadband, the data from the Kentucky experience and the assessment of Connected Nation analysts conclude that the most constructive national solution for broadband expansion is to enable state governments to implement demand creating and supply enhancing programming. Given the cultural, structural, regulatory and topographical variables that influence how broadband can expand, a state is the largest subsystem that can be identified in which to enact effective and cost efficient solutions."

Based on Connected Nation’s experience in Kentucky and after launching similar initiatives in other states, Connected Nation advocates for passage and enactment of legislation that includes:

• Recognition of the critical role of public-private partnerships in broadband expansion
• Federal enabling of state/local response to broadband deployment and demand aggregation
• Recognition of the indispensable role non-profits play in program implementation

Connected Nation has supported the following bills in the 110th Congress that directly seek to replicate and help export the ConnectKentucky model nationwide:

• S. 1190/H.R. 3627 – the Connect the Nation Act of 2007 - The bipartisan Connect the Nation Act of 2007 was recently filed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D – Illinois) to encourage the rapid deployment of affordable broadband Internet service, particularly in rural areas. The legislation supports a grant program that would enable states to implement an initiative similar to ConnectKentucky, a public-private partnership leading efforts to accelerate broadband availability and technology literacy throughout the commonwealth.

• S. 1492 – the Broadband Data Improvement Act - Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), with the cosponsorship of Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), introduced the Broadband Data Improvement Act, S. 1492, which seeks to improve the quality of federal broadband data collection and encourages state initiatives that promote broadband deployment.

If left to market forces alone and with no intervening factor, broadband is not likely to be adopted at a rate that is universally pleasing or constructive. It stands to reason that national policy-makers would make broadband expanding policy a priority as a platform for developing solutions in a number of critical areas: healthcare, education, environmental degradation and even homeland security.

• H.R. 3919 – the Broadband Census of America Act of 2007 - The Broadband Census of America Act would require the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to collect information on the number of broadband subscribers in each postal ZIP code. It would also require the FCC to separate broadband service into speed tiers when it reports broadband availability in annual reports, instead of classifying everything above 200Kbps as broadband. The bill, along with similar legislation pending in the U.S. Senate, addresses long-time criticisms about the FCC's measurements. Currently, the FCC counts a ZIP code as served by broadband if just one residence has service, but critics say many ZIP codes are only partially served by broadband.

Speaking of that last one, it mentions "It would also require the FCC to separate broadband service into speed tiers when it reports broadband availability in annual reports, instead of classifying everything above 200Kbps as broadband."

I'm curious as to what the average speed of broadband in the ConnectKentucky initiative is. Getting the broadband available and growth is only part of the equation. Providing broadband at useful speeds is another important part. While all the money and growth looks good in the report, I didn't see an average speed for subscribers in the affected areas. Curious indeed seeing as how Connected Nation supports a bill that wants the FCC to provide speeds available.

Since broadband has come to be such a non issue at the higher levels of government, and since the major providers pretty much have the urban areas covered pretty well, maybe it is best to leave connecting the rest to state initiatives like ConnectKentucky - if Connected Nation's numbers can be counted on. And the average speeds are comparable to other broadband offered in the state.

But to think just a 7% increase in broadband in each state could possibly bring in so much money in so many different ways is amazing.