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According to a Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project study, "The Mobile Difference," nearly 40 percent Americans have positive and improving attitudes about their mobile communication devices, thereby further immersing themselves into a more robust digital lifestyle.
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How will broadband affect burgeoning controversies over health care? The answers to this question and more came courtesy of a Broadband Cenus-hosted, hour-long panel discussion. View a video of the discussion.
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President Obama on Innovation and Sustainable Growth. President Barack Obama has new plans to strengthen the economy that will all favor people with hi-tech educations. View Now
Elevate Miami, a comprehensive Digital Inclusion program launched by the city of Miami, aims to serve youth, low-income families, minorities, seniors and residents facing barriers to digital inclusion. View Now
The Knight Center of Digital Excellence held its first Stimulus Webcast Session for Knight communities and program directors July 23. Watch it online now. View Now
By pushing hard on broadband, lawmakers hope to close the "digital divide" that has long separated rural America. In doing so, they hope to give rural consumers access to the same sorts of high-speed services and opportunities - think telemedicine, distance-learning and Web-based commerce - that city dwellers have enjoyed for years. View Now
As we shared with you earlier, members of our team found valuable information on best broadband practices at the recent Freedom to Connect (F2C) conference in Washington, D.C.
The conference brought together individuals involved in Internet connectivity from government, nonprofit and commercial sectors. Archives of streaming video, slide presentations, and live blogging and chatting from the conference are now available at http://freedom-to-connect.net.
We found F2C to be an enlightening forum on new forms of broadband communications. Plus, F2C’s main objective mirrors ours at the Knight Center of Digital Excellence: To bring broadband to communities in a way that serves the public interest, so that average Americans end up ahead.
Information you’ll find on the F2C site by and large reflects these values.
During a recent Freedom to Connect conference in Washington, D.C., Knight Center of Digital Excellence Vice President of Business & Community Intelligence William “Garn” Anderson III met with speaker Terry Huval, director of Lafayette Utilities System.
Huval presented a history of the initiative to build a fiber ring around Lafayette, La., and provide fiber-to-the-home services. After years of lawsuits, fiber-to-the-home is now considered the “fourth utility.” The city will offer high-speed cable, internet, and digital phone to residents and businesses through a fiber optic network. Connections to homes will even include battery power, allowing subscribers to receive information by fiber even during a hurricane.
“Terry Huval’s presentation is an excellence example of the importance of coordinating any broadband initiative with the entire community and highlighting the potential benefits to the individual citizen and business community,” Anderson said. “More importantly, Lafayette’s experience demonstrates the long view and significance of a having developed a solid strategic plan for broadband implementation.”
At a recent conference, Knight Center of Digital Excellence team members met James Salter, who has worked on Smart Grid and fiber-to-the-home projects around the country as chief strategy officer for the Atlantic Engineering Group in Braselton, Ga.
In a presentation at the conference, Salter explained why “Smart Grid” planning matters, especially in planning for stimulus spending. A Smart Grid is an ever-widening palette of utility applications that enhance and automate the monitoring and control of electrical distribution.
He agreed to share his views in our blog, and here the primer he prepared for us:
“We need a much more intelligent electrical grid in order to improve efficiency.
“Why? Because today, our system is set up so that we are doomed to waste energy, while also causing needless pollution. Of the electrical generation capacity available in the U.S., we only use 40 percent on average. Yet unless we want blackouts, we have no choice but to build power plants based on peak demand, which is two-and-a-half times average usage.
“If we could level off our demand, by self-regulating our use of air-conditioners, water heaters and major appliances, we could avoid building new power plants for a long time.
“Another benefit: We would also cut down on carbon emissions that contribute to air pollution and global warming.
“So how do we plan for greater efficiency? The key is having an ability to communicate much more intelligently with end customers. Smart Grids allow such communication.
“For example, you might raise your thermostat or turn on your air-conditioning from a remote website. Imagine a hot summer day when the power utility is giving pricing incentives to encourage customers to level their demand. Or think of the times you leave home, expecting to be back shortly, and you get delayed. Why heat your water if you’re not there, particularly when you can remotely turn it off and save money?
“One of the nation’s largest electric utilities – TVA in the southeast U.S. – has set a goal of creating the ability to control 2.8 million residential water heaters with Smart Grid technology. They believe this alone will save them from having to build one very large electric generation facility (3,000 megawatts) in the next 10 years.
“For consumers, Smart Grids would cut the cost of electricity through improved efficiency. And building Smart Grids costs less than building new power plants.
“Now here’s a kicker: If you build the Smart Grid with fiber all the way to the home, you get the dual benefit of being able to provide a 100 megabit (or greater) broadband connection to the customer.
“For that, we’ll need a federal mandate, as there are 3,200 electric utilities around the country, and coordination to this extent will require federal leadership.”
View Salter’s presentation here for more information on Smart Grids.
While Vermont’s farming industry and rural atmosphere still plays a major part in attracting and retaining young families, Eva Sollberger, Seven Days videographer and author of the weekly online video series “Stuck in Vermont,” said she found well over 1,000 tech-savvy Vermonters at the Vermont 3.0 Creative/Tech Career Jam – where students and job seekers got connected with local high-tech companies looking to hire.
At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, we understand that some wonder why rural areas really need the bulk of broadband stimulus funding. Keep in mind that even the most rural areas of our country have high-speed needs – besides the obvious ones. Not only are these areas looking to bolster their existing economic strengths, but they’re also trying to retain and attract talent at new, tech-based businesses that many don’t even know exist.
In an interview, Sollberger said Vermont’s job market is growing and becoming more reliant on new communications technology. People are excited about new companies, technologies and the opportunities they present.
This video highlights Vermont’s growing need for increased connectivity while also showcasing that the state has a lot more to offer besides Holstein cows and rolling hillsides:
From William “Garn” Anderson III, vice president of Business & Community Intelligence at the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, writing from the Freedom to Connect conference in Washington, D.C.:
“There is one consistent theme from everyone: ‘Pace of changes and forecast of things to come in the next two to three years is going to be impacted by social media, networks and electronic devices.’ Hold on for the ride of our lives!”
From The Knight Center of Digital Excellence to you: Freedom to Connect 2009 Day 2 highlights. We’ll continue to post updates as available:
Broadband Success Story: Lafayette, La.
Today’s speakers at F2C09 included Terry Huval, director of Lafayette Utilities System (LUS). Huval presented a history of the initiative to build a fiber ring around the city and provide fiber-to-the-home services. After years of lawsuits, fiber-to-the-home is now considered the “fourth utility.” The city will offer high-speed cable, internet, and digital phone to residents and businesses through a fiber optic network. Connections to homes will even include battery power, allowing subscribers to receive information by fiber even during a hurricane.
Broadband Success Story: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Herman Wagter, CEO of CityNet Amsterdam, shared how his city has built its fiber-to-the-home system to reach thousands of homes and businesses. CityNet has faced unique challenges, including a diverse customer base; deployment issues caused by building design and a lack of poles; and competing providers that have threatened the business model. He stressed the value in sharing network infrastructure and the importance of eliminating legal, economic, social and other barriers to enable connectivity.
With broadband’s emergence as a national priority, it’s been an exciting year so far for those in the business of connectivity. Vendors, customers, regulators, legislators, analysts, financiers, and involved citizens are gathering at Tim Karr positioned that we are at a critical juncture of technology and politics with two distinct value systems competing - mass media (one directional & centralized) vs. social media (active participation & social networks).
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