Despite the support for publicly funded broadband networks — and the push by private companies to jump into the fray — some have questioned whether bringing high-speed Internet has a direct effect on jobs and the economy, said the Washington Post last April.
A January report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a research organization, stated that an investment of $10 billion in broadband networks across the country would create nearly 500,000 jobs, including the hard-hat jobs digging trenches and laying fiber lines. Other positions would come from businesses that rise from high-tech innovation and better productivity, the report said.
But some economists have questioned such predictions, saying that bringing high-speed Internet to rural areas is much more complicated.
“For the idea that some sort of magical economic development will occur, there is no evidence that that can happen,” said Robert W. Crandall, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has studied the issue.
“You can’t just drop an Internet line and expect jobs growth. Getting broadband access is only the first part,” said Larry Irving, former head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Supporters of broadband as a way to jump-start an economy cite Lebanon Virginia as an example of how technology can change a town. High-speed Internet came three years ago after Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), and Mark R. Warner, then governor, helped get $2.3 million in grants to bring fiber-optic pipes to homes and business parks.
It helped that district planners at the same time converted an old strip mall to a training center that allowed residents to get their high school equivalency diplomas and prepare for jobs as technicians and information technology workers.
Derek Turner, research director for public advocacy group Free Press, said the social benefits of providing broadband to all Americans are enormous. But getting people to subscribe to online services and translating the availability of broadband to economic growth is a harder to achieve.
The interest rate on the USDA loans is approximately the borrowing cost of the U.S. government – just over 3% for five years and under 5% for ten years. On their own, if they could get loans at all, many of the companies who might build in rural areas would have to pay interest rates which are at least twice that. That’s real money.
Many failed municipal broadband networks, like Philadelphia’s unsuccessful citywide Wi-Fi project, gambled that citizens would want to buy service subscriptions. By contrast, OpenCape in Cape Cod, Mass., crafted a plan to deploy a broadband backhaul network for the entire cape. It is comprised largely of organizations professing interest in being anchor tenants for broadband providers.
The SkyZhone metro Wi-Fi system believes that metro WiFi lives. Their access points can be line powered from the CO and enable voice, video, and data communications using dual draft-802.11n radio architecture. The 1624 model provides 2.4 GHz access for residential access while simultaneously providing 4.9 GHz access for Public Safety applications.
The rules for broadband funding were published last week. The forms and instructions are available online at http://broadbandusa.sc.egov.usda.gov. The deadline is August 14th.
