IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Five cities have been named as the testing grounds for the Cool and Connected program, a community-based plan aimed at boosting connectivity and pulling in money for their local economies.

For millions of Americans, the exponential growth of new technologies has forever changed the way we interact with one another, do business, travel and even how we approach health care.

While a vast cross-section of citizens enjoys the benefits of these new tools and the seemingly constant connection to the Internet, the sea change has left other communities with gaps in access that need to be filled.

Infrastructure projects are immensely popular with the American people. In March, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law with $343 million earmarked for Jacksonville/Duval infrastructure projects. And a substantially larger federal infrastructure-targeted bill is making its way through Congress now.

So why are our City leaders considering a $1 billion 30-year gas tax bill for infrastructure when the federal money is already starting to flow to Jacksonville, signaling that we have entered a new FDR-like era?

Florida’s Fort Pierce Utilities Authority (FPUA) has selected Fujitsu Communications to plan, design and deploy a broadband network expansion to be part of a neighborhood revitalization for promoting long-term business growth on the Florida coast.

FPUA is a public utility that has provided electric, water, wastewater and natural gas services to the City of Fort Pierce and surrounding areas since 1972. Starting in the early 2000s, FPUA began offering dedicated internet to large businesses and anchor institutions through its FPUAnet division. In 2018, the FPUA Board approved an initiative to become a smart city by providing high-speed internet to all parcels within the city. This initiative provided the opportunity for a community partnership to deploy into Lincoln Park, one of the city’s revitalization zones.

Fort Collins is considered innovative in many ways. However, it's behind the times in at least one regard: municipal broadband.

Cities nationwide and even those in our backyard — think Longmont — have or are establishing city-owned Internet services.

Reliable, affordable access to high-speed broadband is critical to the country's economic growth and competitiveness, as argued in a January report from the White House. It's also key to attracting new and innovative businesses to Fort Collins.

The Central Valley of California may not seem like the ideal place for technology innovation. Known for its agricultural production, the area is likely home to more farmers than computer programmers. But that may change in the years to come, as Fresno, Calif., attempts to tie its agriculture heritage with the power of open data and broadband connectivity.

Another potential wrinkle in providing broadband is that while the state has approved the Time Warner/Charter Communications merger, it still must pass muster with federal regulators.

The Otsego County Industrial Development Agency's hopes of scoring state funding to begin connecting rural homes to broadband this year have been delayed once again after state regulatory action, county officials were advised Wednesday.

Atlanta has installed fiber-optic cable for a new “smart city” corridor to connect dozens of neighborhoods with an advanced communications network, according to a Thursday announcement from a vendor working with the city.

The “Atlanta BeltLine” project, which aims to connect 45 neighborhoods with trails, streetcars and parks, is now home to more than 15 miles of fiber-optic cable that will be used for residential, business and public-safety infrastructure, according to Ex2 Technology, a company that worked with the city and Atlanta BeltLine Inc. — the region’s economic development agency — to lay the fiber.

The fiber-optic network will benefit Dawson, Forsyth, Habersham, Lumpkin, Rabun, Towns, Union and White counties with more reliable and more affordable high-speed Internet access.

"Ultimately, we want this network to change the shape of education, business and the economy across the rural counties of north Georgia," said Bruce Abraham, president and CEO of North Georgia Network, a non-profit organization seeking to improve economic development and education in north Georgia.

The decision to bundle the provision in this way has lead experts to surmise that a large take-up of the internet system will take place, for which the implications in communications and learning are dramatic.

But Google isn’t hemming and hawing about gigabit Internet. Its message is clear. The cities that Google chose to be its first fiber cities will be at the forefront of the next generation of Web technology, said Google Communications Associate Jenna Wandres. “We really believe that this is an investment in the future of the Web,” she said.

Many residents and businesses in Ohio’s rural Appalachian counties lack access to broadband Internet service, missing out on a chance to buy or sell products, avail themselves of medical care or just send an email.

That’s not acceptable, say leaders of several public, private and nonprofit organizations. Yesterday, they formed a task force to do something about it.

The state hopes that by relaxing time consuming licensing and permitting requirements they can entice broadband providers to increase their infrastructure investments throughout the islands. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will provide a report off all exemptions given during the five year period and make recommendations on how to go forward.

The Hawaii Broadband Initiative, released by Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s office last month, directs state agencies to work with stakeholders to make affordable 1 Gbps broadband connectivity available to underserved and rural communities, businesses and public institutions throughout the state.

CIO Gary Cavin says it's a cornerstone of his city's success.

In June, Columbus, Ohio, was named Intelligent Community of the Year by the Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF), an organization that promotes using technology to boost economic success and tackle social challenges. A three-time finalist in the global award program, Columbus earned the top ranking in 2015 on the strength of a solid broadband infrastructure and effective collaboration among the city government, research institutions and private businesses.

Illinois’ investment of $2 million will help support Gigabit Squared’s nationally renowned Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program to create jobs, improve neighborhood safety, enhance education and improve health-care services, according to a press release.

While the majority of people without broadband home access still connect to the Internet with their smartphones or public computers, their use is limited.

Widespread use of smartphones has made it easier for Chicagoans to hop onto the Internet, but research shows there still exists a sizable gap in the number of people with access to broadband at home — particularly on the South and West sides.

In 2013, broadband adoption on home computers and devices was lowest in neighborhoods such as West Garfield Park, Burnside and Brighton Park, as well as other African-American and Latino neighborhoods where poverty rates are high, according to a study released Friday by the MacArthur Foundation and Partnership for a Connected Illinois.

But without a robust and ubiquitous broadband network to support this new industry, the future of Indiana’s rural communities will be jeopardized.

People from rural areas have historically had to travel long distances to obtain specialized health care services. Now patients are able to access specialists remotely via the Internet at a local doctor’s office — as long as adequate broadband is available.

In June, the group Wired Wisconsin announced that a joint report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Communications Commission shows that more than one in four rural Americans lack access to broadband services.

For Wisconsin, half a million residents do not have access to Internet broadband technology with download speeds greater than three megabytes per second. Also, more than a million state residents do not have access to broadband with download speeds greater than six megabytes per second.

The next step to connect Waterloo residents to the city’s new fiber optic network is underway after a bid was awarded. The City Council held a special session on Thursday to award a bid of $77.86 million to ITG Communications, LLC, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the fiber-to-the-premise and backbone network project. Councilmembers Dave Boesen, Ray Feuss, Jonathan Grieder and Rob Nichols were present and all voted for the bid.

The National Science Foundation, US Ignite and other partners announced the launch of a wireless communications testbed in rural central Iowa to explore expanding broadband access to rural America and other innovations.

A new broadband testbed in Iowa will explore not only how to improve access and reduce costs for Internet connectivity in rural America, but will also help to develop innovations for digitally connected farms.