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Research shows 20 percent of households worldwide to be connected by year’s end

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

If there were any lingering doubts that broadband is truly the future world platform for innovation, the information technology research and advisory company Gartner Inc. put some of those to rest with their recent projections on worldwide broadband penetration.

Knight Community broadband penetration figures
Gartner reports 60 percent of U.S. households have a fixed broadband connection. Curious to know how your Knight Community ranks? The following figures are from a demographics study that determined what percentage of respondents said they connect to the Internet from home using a broadband or high-speed connection:
Aberdeen, S.D.	46.9 percent
Akron, Ohio	45.7 percent
Biloxi, Miss.	53.0 percent
Boulder, Colo.	69.7 percent
Bradenton, Fla.	45.7 percent
Charlotte, N.C.	58.2 percent
Cleveland	38.5 percent
Columbia, S.C.	55.1 percent
Columbus, Ga.	50.8 percent
Detroit	35.8 percent
Duluth, Minn.	54.3 percent
Fort Wayne, Ind.	48.1 percent
Gary, Ind.	35.1 percent
Grand Forks, N.D.	57.4 percent
Long Beach, Calif.	49.5 percent
Macon, Ga.	39.9 percent
Miami-Dade County	44.6 percent
Milledgeville, Ga.	41.2 percent
Myrtle Beach, S.C.	48.8 percent
Palm Beach County, Fla.	63.1 percent
Philadelphia	45.0 percent
San Jose	62.3 percent
St. Paul, Minn.	53.8 percent
State College, Pa.	68.6 percent
Tallahassee, Fla.	57.1 percent
Wichita, Kan.	51.6 percent
Source: Demographics Now

Overall, Gartner projects 422 million (about 20 percent) households worldwide will have a fixed broadband connection by the end of this year, a roughly 11 percent increase from the number of households that had a fixed broadband connection at the end of 2008.

According to Gartner, South Korea is currently the leader in household broadband penetration with 86 percent of South Korean households connected to broadband, followed by the Netherlands (80 percent), Denmark (75 percent), Hong Kong (72 percent), Canada (69 percent) and Switzerland (69 percent). Gartner reports the U.S. lags behind with a 60 percent broadband penetration rate, but expects it to pass several nations in the next four years as projections have the U.S. adding 27 million new connections and raising its penetration rate to 78 percent by 2013.

Gartner also predicts several developing nations will see a massive rise in their number of broadband connections with an additional 135 million in the next four years. The firm expects Brazil, Russia, China and India to account for more than two-thirds of new connections in the developing world and nearly half of all new connections worldwide.

At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, these numbers tell us what we already know: The cry for better broadband can be heard all over the world and it’s not being ignored any longer. Nations that have been at the forefront will continue to grow and innovate further (Gartner predicts South Korea’s household broadband penetration rate will be 93 percent in 2013.), while nations that have gotten a late start will begin to utilize the same life-changing applications many already take advantage of.

Tags: Aberdeen, Akron, bandwidth, Biloxi, Boulder, Bradenton, Brazil, broadband, Broadband Expansion, broadband penetration, California, Canada, Charlotte, China, Cleveland, Colorado, Columbia, Columbus, Demographics Now, Denmark, Detroit, digital, Duluth, Florida, Fort Wayne, Gartner Inc., Gary, Georgia, Grand Forks, high-speed, Hong Kong, India, Indiana, infrastructure, innovation, Internet, Kansas, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Knight communities, Long Beach, Macon, Miami, Milledgeville, Minnesota, Mississippi, Myrtle Beach, Netherlands, network, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Palm Beach, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Russia, San Jose, South Carolina, South Dakota, South Korea, St. Paul, State College, Switzerland, Tallahassee, Wichita
Posted in Digital news, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, broadband | 3 Comments »

Knight Center efforts highlighted during national conference

Monday, October 12th, 2009

The Council on Foundations Fall Conference for Community Foundations in San Antonio brought together hundreds of high-profile Community Foundation representatives for a three-day event (Oct. 5-7) to discuss creating transformative change in our nation’s largest cities to its most rural communities. The Council on Foundations is a national nonprofit association of approximately 2,000 grant-making foundations and corporations that strive to increase the effectiveness, stewardship and accountability of its sector while providing members with services and support necessary for success.

Several Knight Center of Digital Excellence connected community success stories were showcased during the conference. Knight Center Community Program Consultant James Farstad featured the accomplishments of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and the Miami Dade Broadband Coalition in a presentation about the challenges and opportunities associated with meeting the information needs in large communities. Farstad spoke about Mayor Diaz’s vision for a 21st-century community and how the Knight Center’s unique approach has helped Miami-Dade accelerate efforts to achieve key broadband goals.

Other breakout sessions showcased innovative Knight Center activities in Akron, Ohio, and Milledgeville, Ga. Akron Deputy Mayor David Lieberth demonstrated his city’s commitment to exemplify strategies to meet the information needs of mid-sized cities, and Jim Wolfgang, Director of the Digital Innovation Group at Georgia College, focused on Milledgeville during his discussion on how small cities can uniquely meet their needs.

The importance of access to information and the new role of individuals as information contributors was stressed throughout the conference, with discussions focusing on how new media, libraries and broadband access are crucial to ensuring a consistent, two-way flow of information within a community.

“Informing Communities: Sustaining democracy in the Digital Age,” a report by The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, was introduced, and provided an outstanding perspective on how “information is as vital to the healthy functioning of communities as clean air, safe streets, good schools and public health.”

According to the report, “America needs ‘informed communities,’ places where the information ecology meets people’s personal and civic information needs. This means people have the news and information they need to take advantage of life’s opportunities for themselves and their families. They need information to participate fully in our system of self-government, to stand up and be heard. Driving this vision are the critical democratic values of openness, inclusion, participation, empowerment, and the common pursuit of truth and the public interest.”

Presenters were able to demonstrate how the Knight Center’s efforts in numerous communities across the nation have provided citizens with the new media and broadband technology necessary to maintain open information streams. Attendees were able to see how the Knight Center is demonstrating its ability to accelerate the creation of connected communities by helping them develop strategies and leverage information technologies to drive civic progress and economic development.

Tags: Akron, broadband, Broadband Expansion, community, Council on Foundations, David Lieberth, digital, digital divide, Digital Innovation Group, Fall Conference for Community Foundations, Florida, Georgia, Georgia College, innovation, Internet, James Farstad, Jim Wolfgang, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, library, Manny Diaz, Miami, Miami Dade Broadband Coalition, Milledgeville, new media, Ohio, rural communities, San Antonio, Texas
Posted in Digital news, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, broadband | No Comments »

Follow Knight critical success factors to ensure network sustainability

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

The Knight Center of Digital Excellence is dedicated to helping Knight communities across the nation develop broadband strategies that meet local challenges and help each other compete and thrive in the new economy. The communities range from large cities such as Miami and Detroit to mid-sized cities such as Akron, Ohio, and small, more rural areas such as Milledgeville, Ga.

Our key learning: Each city is unique in terms of their individual needs, but a sustainable network can be established in each one if our proven and innovative approach to digital transformation – our critical success factors – are met:

Inspiring digital visions: During the first stages of engagement awareness is key. We raise awareness of what COULD be, and what the power of information technologies can mean for the broader community and each key stakeholder group. This happens only by making the benefits of broadband tangible, real and achievable to benefit and transform areas including health care, education, government, digital inclusion, workforce development, economic opportunity and democracy.

Enabling local leadership: Once communities are inspired with a digital vision, local leadership needs to be uncovered, developed and supported. The Knight Center builds champions for each initiative, including stakeholders from multiple contingencies.

Developing sustainable community plans: Leaders of community broadband initiatives need to focus on the communities’ top priorities and interests help to help ensure short and long-term support. The Knight Center assists local leaders SEE the desired results and develop a plan, or “roadmap,” to ACHIEVE success.

Resourcing for launch: Every successful community broadband network needs sustainability strategies based on strong and continued value propositions that capitalize on both the needs and desires in a community and a community’s resources. In addition to plans that appropriately line up resources such as business skills, technical talents, financial and other project related assets, successful community broadband projects will have plans in place for continued investment, technology evolution, application expansion, community adoption and community leadership.

A sustainable network can be established in each community if our proven and innovative approach to digital transformation – our critical success factors – are properly met.

But how do you plan to pay for the network once it’s fully functional?

There’s no such thing as a free ticket – that’s the bottom line. Each connected community needs to have a plan, often developed in concert with Knight Center, that can include funding generated from initiative (self-funding), local private and public institutions, and/or national grant funding.

Cost is just one of the many challenges that need to be addressed at the program’s onset. But remember, all players – from the citizen to the highest government official – have the same basic goal in mind – success.

Tags: Akron, broadband, Broadband Expansion, community, Detroit, digital, digital divide, digital vision, Florida, Georgia, infrastructure, innovation, Internet, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Miami, Michigan, Milledgeville, network, Ohio, rural communities, stakeholder, sustainable broadband adoption
Posted in Knight Center of Digital Excellence, broadband | No Comments »

Knight Center active during first round of stimulus funding

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

The Knight Center of Digital Excellence has been extremely active in helping its Knight communities participate in the first round of broadband stimulus funding by collaborating with like-minded organizations to create a host of innovative programs designed to create jobs and bolster local economies.

We also supported local groups with their own asks – including Philadelphia’s Digital Philadelphia initiative; Miami’s “Elevate Miami;” Miami-Dade County’s Public Safety/Special Purpose Broadband; Detroit Broadband LLC’s (Clearwire); St. Paul, Minn.; Duluth, Minn.; and Biloxi, Miss.

Our proposals included:

• Connect Your Community

• Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition Infrastructure Project

• Northeast South Dakota Rural Broadband Project

Connect Your Community

A Sustainable Broadband Adoption stimulus proposal, Connect Your Community (CYC) saw the Knight Center partner with a host of the nation’s top digital adoption experts to propose a program that would engage, train, equip and support new broadband users in multiple communities, including Aberdeen, S.D.; Akron, Ohio; Biloxi/Gulfport, Miss.; Bradenton, Fla.; Detroit; Lexington, Ky.; Miami; and St. Paul.

CYC would directly help more than 75,000 disadvantaged households benefit from Internet access through a high-touch, community-based, replicable approach. The program would include digital literacy training and support, creating about 136 direct jobs while generating another 50 indirect positions. The Knight Center has partnered with community agencies such as urban leagues, libraries, educational institutions, economic development groups and health and human services organizations that would carry out the work in each targeted region.

National collaborators that would support key aspects of CYC include the Benton Foundation; the Alliance for Community Media; PBS; PC Rebuilders and Recyclers; TechSoup; Angela Siefer, of ShinyDoor; Jim Baller, of Baller Herbst Law Group and the U.S. Broadband Coalition; and Karen Peltz Strauss, of KPS Consulting. Dr. Kate Williams, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois and a leading authority on program evaluation, would design evaluation methods for the project.

Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition Infrastructure Project

The Knight Center partnered with the Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition in the planned construction of a robust, open, carrier-neutral broadband network that would provide broadband services augmented by nearly 35 square miles of wireless Internet access to up to 900 community organizations and institutions while reaching more than 2 million residents. This project has the potential to serve as a model economic engine and platform for innovation for the healthcare, education, public safety, digital inclusion, biotechnology, research and e-government applications.

This infrastructure project is expected to create more than 1,150 immediate, high-paying jobs directly involved with the implementation of the project, and 575 indirect jobs as a result of project related activity. The estimated economic impact created by this project is projected to be more than $1 billion with an increase in direct annual income of more than $700 million.

The Knight Center and the Miami Dade Broadband Coalition submitted a proposal to the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, requesting $64 million to cover close to 80 percent of the total project costs. If this funding is not obtained, the project will continue at a smaller scale.

Northeast South Dakota Rural Broadband Project

The Northeast South Dakota Rural Broadband Project is possible through a partnership between the Knight Center, TelServ Communications and the North East Council of Governments. The project aims to bring a wireless broadband super-highway linking 12 contiguous counties in rural Northeast South Dakota and provide broadband connectivity to more than 60,000 people. The Knight Center also worked with both partnering organizations to submit a Broadband Information Program application for funding.

In addition to the possible development and deployment of advanced public safety, e-government, telemedicine, agricultural, biotechnology and learning applications, the project is expected to generate an economic impact of more than $22 million a year, including preserving and creating more than 50 immediate, high-paying jobs directly involved with implementation and 470 indirect jobs.

These projects are just the beginning as rounds two and three should provide even more opportunities for Knight communities. The Knight Center of Digital Excellence is dedicated to helping our communities become connected communities. For more information on what the Knight Center is doing in your community and others, visit www.knightcenter.org.

Tags: Aberdeen, Akron, Alliance for Community Media, American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009, Angela Siefer, Baller Herbst Law Group, bandwidth, benton foundation, Biloxi, BIP, Bradenton, broadband, Broadband Expansion, Broadband Initiatives Program, broadband stimulus funding, Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, BTOP, community, Connect Your Community, CYC, Detroit, digital, Digital Philadelphia, Dr. Kate Williams, Duluth, economy, education, electricity, Elevate Miami, Gulfport, healthcare, high-speed, infrastructure, innovation, Internet, Jim Baller, Karen Peltz Strauss, KCoDE, Knight, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, KPS Consulting, Lexington, Miami, Miami-Dade County, network, North East Council of Governments, Northeast South Dakota Rural Broadband Project, PBS, PC Rebuilders and Recyclers, Philadelphia, rural communities, ShinyDoor, South Dakota, St. Paul, stimulus, stimulus watch, TechSoup, telemedicine, TelServ Communications, U.S. Broadband Coalition, University of Illinois, utilities
Posted in ARRA, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Stimulus Package, broadband | No Comments »

Broadband - so what? Here’s what

Friday, August 7th, 2009

By Doug Adams, Knight Center of Digital Excellence

While President Barack Obama and Congress have made clear how important broadband is to our nation by putting $7.2 billion in stimulus funding behind broadband initiatives, there still seems to be a perception gap among many non-adopter citizens.

In short, there is a lack of understanding of the value broadband connectivity can bring to their lives. The U.S. Telecom Association recently said many citizens aren’t adopting because of “perceived lack of Internet relevance.”

If the perception is that high-speed access is about iTunes and iPods, then public education should become part of public policy as it relates to stimulus funding on broadband networks.

We know it’s routine for students to submit their assignments online, or for job seekers to find and apply for employment. What’s less obvious is that high-speed Internet is the new platform for innovation, collaboration, education, learning and professional development opportunities. Broadband networks are critical to our individual, community, and nation’s progress.

In the Cleveland area, for example, public libraries offer summer programs to teach children 3-D imaging, animation and other skills that will prepare them for tomorrow’s opportunities.

Or go to Detroit, where an organization named Youthville is promoting a holistic and integrated approach to developing youth. Programs for children cover computer skills, leadership, academics, fitness, Web broadcasting and music studio recording. Among these programs is a new, one-of-a-kind, 24-hour broadcasting studio.

This spring in Miami, the city announced the start of a $200 million Smart Grid initiative led by state utility company Florida Power & Light. An initial build-out to 1,000 homes will validate different devices and services such as dashboards, smart thermostats, smart appliances and demand response software that are designed to help consumers more actively manage their energy consumption.

These are just a few examples of ongoing initiatives we at the Knight Center of Digital Excellence are helping along.

It is a disservice to America to trivialize the importance of broadband by relating applications primarily to pop culture. Sure, entertainment options increase as broadband expands, but that’s hardly the driving force of broadband networks. The public relations firm Ruder Finn found in a recent survey that research and self-education topped entertainment as reasons for going online. Those findings mirror a 2008 study by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, which found over 60 percent of online visits at public libraries were work or education related.

While our nation invests $7.2 billion in stimulus funding for broadband initiatives, let’s not lose sight of the compelling “so what” – that is, the opportunity for economic growth that will improve quality of life for Americans.

Beyond what’s at stake for individuals and communities, our nation is now in a position of playing catch-up with global competitors. We’re woefully behind in developing the broadband platform needed to continue moving forward and spurring innovation. In a recent Technology Policy Institute study analyzing download speeds, the U.S. falls between 11th and 14th in the world in that category, depending on the survey.

More disheartening is a Speedtest.net study that shows the U.S. had one of the worst increases in download speed over the past year of any nation.

It gets even worse regarding upload speeds. A number of studies shows the average U.S. upload speed to be somewhere between 371 kilobytes per second (Kbps) and 435 Kbps. Hardly adequate for the many potential business, education, telemedicine and e-government applications we need to drive down costs and spur innovation.
It’s critical to get everyone in the U.S. connected to high-speed Internet as soon as possible. When citizens aren’t online, our nation’s resources – our entrepreneurial spirit and innovative minds – are not being leveraged.

It’s time now to connect the dots on the demonstrated payoffs, so that Americans clearly know what opportunities are in store as a result of broadband adoption.

So what? It’s our future.

Doug Adams oversees public information efforts for the Knight Center of Digital Excellence based in Akron, Ohio. The center is operated by Cleveland-based technology nonprofit OneCommunity, in partnership with The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and is dedicated to creating connected communities through strategies that utilize information technologies to drive civic progress and economic development. To learn more about the Knight Center, go to www.knightcenter.org or e-mail info@knightcenter.org.

Tags: 3-D, American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009, bandwidth, Barack Obama, broadband, Broadband Expansion, Cleveland, community, Congress, Detroit, digital, digital divide, Doug Adams, economy, education, Florida, Florida Power & Light, healthcare, high-speed, infrastructure, innovation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Internet, iPod, iTunes, KCoDE, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Miami, Michigan, network, non-adopter, Ohio, OneCommunity, Smart Grid, Speedtest.net, stimulus, stimulus watch, Technology Policy Institute, U.S. Telecom Association, upload speed, utilities
Posted in ARRA, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, OneCommunity, Opinion, Stimulus Package, broadband | No Comments »

What broadband stimulus funds can mean for your community

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Attracting and retaining business is an important part of any community’s economic makeup. And it’s the little guy that can sometimes provide the greatest benefit for many areas.

Small businesses employ over half of the U.S. private workforce. In many communities, small businesses may employ even a higher percentage.

The stimulus package means jobs for small businesses. The U.S. Council of Economic Advisers projects the stimulus package – as a whole – will create of save about 3.7 million jobs (1.6 million in small and mid-sized businesses). Steve King, of Emergent Research, indicates a significant share of those jobs will take place in areas where growing businesses play a major role.

According to King, the stimulus package provides a number of elements to boost the economy, mostly centered around a modernized infrastructure, a shift to clean energy, an improvement in healthcare, broadened educational opportunities and an expanded use of technology.

At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, we’re seeing how an “expanded use of technology” – specifically broadband technology – is already laying the groundwork for future economic development in numerous Knight communities. Consider just a few of the previous articles we’ve reported on: wireless networks taking off in Akron, Ohio; advances in Smart Grid technology in Miami; the use of ePrescribing and telemedicine applications in numerous states, IT workforce development programs in Lexington, Ky.

Broadband Internet is playing a crucial role in all areas outlined as crucial elements in getting our nation’s economy back on track. Keep in mind these programs not only lay the foundation for economic success for existing businesses, but for entrepreneurs as well.

Consider what the Internet has allowed many to accomplish already. Some 20,000 small businesses now operate on the Internet, 120,000 individuals are primarily employed as eBay sellers and 500,000 individuals have part-time businesses on eBay. In addition, there are several examples of Internet companies that have risen to prominence within the last 10 years to become major employers. Amazon, Cisco Systems, Symantec, Google and eBay collectively employ 75,000 people. All in all, consumer e-commerce comprises about 10 percent of all U.S. retailing.

Communities that can offer expanded broadband technology better position themselves to not only attract and retain existing business, but allow small ones to grow and thrive. And thriving local business means a more solid tax base and greater economic freedom.

Tags: Akron, Amazon, American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009, broadband, Broadband Expansion, Cisco Systems, community, digital, eBay, economy, education, electricity, Emergent Research, Florida, Google, healthcare, high-speed, Information Technology, infrastructure, innovation, Internet, IT, KCoDE, Kentucky, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Lexington, Miami, network, Ohio, small business, Steve King, stimulus, stimulus watch, telemedicine, U.S. Council of Economic Advisers, utilities
Posted in ARRA, Stimulus Package | No Comments »

Successful broadband investment requires substantial planning

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

To invest smartly in broadband networks in your community, the key is to plan, plan, plan. And it’s important that entities work together – cities, counties, states, universities, public schools, hospitals and others.

Without substantial planning, you risk wasting money on ineffective projects that you and your community will regret later.

Take Akron, Ohio, as a good example of the power of collaboration: A new broadband network is going live this summer.

While our team at the Knight Center of Digital Excellence initiated the effort, it didn’t take much prodding to get buy-in from Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic’s office, the University of Akron and others. Each had something to contribute, and each would receive a return on investment from the sustainable community network.

As designing began for a 12-square mile wireless network in Akron, stakeholders realized that the university’s existing campus network could be utilized for this project. The city also had some assets it could make available to the project, including buildings, fiber and conduit.

By reconfiguring a few devices controlling the university’s network and allowing public access across the campus, the first part of Akron’s wireless district became a reality with minimal additional investment. It simply took engaging the right stakeholders and undertaking a bit of collaborative planning, starting with people coming together around a table.

Another example: Miami, Fla., where the Elevate Miami program is teaching digital literacy to children and adults of all ages. The project involves Florida International University, the city of Miami and community centers around the city.

At 40 locations across Miami, university students will conduct classes for various groups of people. Small business owners, for instance, will learn how to use technology to advance their businesses. The elderly will learn to use email and other Internet applications to keep in touch with family and friends.

Private enterprise, too, can be part of the collaborative mix.

Xcel Energy is working with public entities in Boulder, Colo.

The state, county and local entities have come together to plan out broadband networks in conjunction with shovel-ready road projects. It’s a simple idea: If you are digging to build roads, why not lay fiber for broadband at the same time? The extra cost of adding conduit pipe for broadband fiber is minimal compared to the cost of digging twice.

In Boulder’s case, Xcel, the state’s largest utility, is wiring a broadband information network into power lines. The utility has laid more than 100 miles of fiber-optic cable so far. The new system will allow residents to manage their power usage, even enabling them to turn down their heat at home via a website that’s accessible anywhere.

Efficient use of networks can happen only through very substantial planning. It means that mayor’s offices, city and county planning departments, state agencies, and others need to work together toward large goals in the public interest.

This is a key recommendation from our team members at the Knight Center of Digital Excellence: Smart planning is the way for communities to get the most return from investments in infrastructure.

Tags: Akron, bandwidth, Boulder, broadband, Broadband Expansion, Colorado, community, digital, digital divide, Don Plusquellic, Elevate Miami, Florida, Florida International University, high-speed, infrastructure, innovation, Internet, KCoDE, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Miami, Ohio, OneCommunity, small business, smart planning, University of Akron, wireless district, wireless network, Xcel Energy
Posted in Digital news, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, OneCommunity | No Comments »

Miami starting to look very smart

Friday, April 24th, 2009

On April 20, the city of Miami announced the start of a $200 million Smart Grid initiative that aims to connect every home and business in Miami-Dade County by 2011.

That’s right, every home and business. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to what city leaders are dubbing “Energy Smart Miami” – the largest Smart Grid program in the U.S.

Led by state utility company Florida Power & Light, an initial buildout to 1,000 homes will test different devices and services such as dashboards, smart thermostats, smart appliances and demand response software that are designed to help consumers more actively manage their energy consumption.

To achieve this end, the Smart Grid network will take advantage of numerous applications that utilize wireless hardware, different types of software – even cell phones. Third-party providers are already in heated competition and lining up to show that their apps are tops.

There’s a lot at stake. If the program is successful, FPL plans to invest another $500 million to provide the smart service to all of its 4.5 million customers.

All in all, it’s proof positive that a connected community will position itself to reap unimagined economic benefits.

A simple and powerful idea for communities is constructing Smart Grids and their broadband network at the same time. After all, a broadband network has a similar structure as an electricity network — long-distance transmission, feeder lines to local hubs and fixed and wireless users.

At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, we feel Miami’s efforts will not only take advantage of the work we’re already doing there to establish broadband networks, but will create overall efficiencies in how business is conducted.

Tags: bandwidth, broadband, Broadband Expansion, community, dashboards, demand response software, digital, economy, electricity, energy, Energy Smart Miami, Florida Power & Light, infrastructure, innovation, Internet, KCoDE, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Miami, Miami-Dade County, network, OneCommunity, smart appliances, Smart Grid, smart planning, smart thermostats, third-party providers, utilities
Posted in Knight Center, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, OneCommunity, Opinion | 1 Comment »

Get ready, get set, innovate

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

If stimulus and shovel-ready are the words of the year, and if this means we’re ready to invest billions, shouldn’t we know what we’ll get for all this money?

Sure, we’re told what we’re building in terms of facilities and infrastructure. Yet we can’t possibly see where this will take us, any more than we could have imagined the full potential of Interstate highways more than 50 years ago.

We should be prepared for benefits, consequences and things we cannot yet envision.

With the highway projects of the 50s, the known benefits were that roads stretching across America would improve travel. Yet there was no way to know how these roads would transform our lives, our communities, and the ways we do business.

Suddenly, we could actually drive from New York to Los Angeles. Manufacturers could truck goods to points of sales cross-country, meaning regional suppliers could go national. Mass merchandising rose to a new level.

At the same time, highways opened corridors to suburbs, creating sprawl that drained cities of population, and gave rise to increasingly disconnected communities.

Whatever the unwanted affects, would we ever have not wanted to reap all of the benefits associated with building our Interstate highways?

Today’s challenge in building broadband networks is to prepare for new opportunities, while also anticipating the potential pitfalls and how to avoid them.

While we can’t foresee the things we don’t yet know, we do know life is different – right now, today – in places with advanced broadband networks, such as in Seoul, South Korea. In Seoul, if you want to renew your driver’s license, you do it from home via an Internet connection that works through your television. Even in the U.S., which is behind other broadband-developed nations, there are pockets of advanced innovation where people can do things such as consult doctors via the Internet at affordable prices.

We see examples in places such as Miami, where there is a telemedicine initiative that would provide primary healthcare via interactive video conferencing to children in Miami-Dade County’s 392 public schools. Or in Lexington, Ky., host of the 2010 World Equestrian Games, where everything from security to ticketing will notch up to a new level as a result of high-speed communications, made possible through expanded broadband networks.

At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, we believe that one of the great opportunities resulting from broadband networks will be the reconnecting of communities. We believe the time is right to once again redefine our notion of community, and how we can connect in new ways, through new technologies, to improve education, healthcare, public safety and business opportunities.

The case for innovation is not so much in knowing exactly where we’ll end up, but in knowing that if we’re not moving forward we’re falling behind. There is no choice, really, but to move forward with confidence and courage.

Tags: 2010 World Equestrian Games, American Recovery & Reinvestment Act 2009, bandwidth, broadband, community, digital, digital divide, healthcare, highways, infrastructure, innovation, Internet, interstate, KCoDE, Kentucky, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Lexington, Los Angeles, Miami, Miami-Dade County, OneCommunity, opportunity, pitfalls, Seoul, South Korea, stimulus, stimulus watch, telemedicine
Posted in Digital news, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, OneCommunity, Opinion | No Comments »

Big steps forward in Miami-Dade

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

Miami-Dade County has taken important steps toward presenting a unified voice in its efforts to develop a broadband implementation plan for the community.

Here’s an update from Kim Marcille, Community Program Consultant for the Knight Center of Digital Excellence:

An interim executive committee was elected last week for the Miami-Dade Broadband Coalition, and members met Monday, March 9, for the first time.

The committee includes representatives from local educational and health care institutions, city and county government, the business community and various civic groups.

The group will work to advance three core programs already evolving in the region:

• Development of a shared, open infrastructure, ultra (high speed) broadband network in Miami-Dade that will allow major stakeholders to share services and resources and lower costs;

• Expansion of Elevate Miami, a successful City of Miami digital inclusion program funded in part by the Microsoft Foundation, to include all of Miami-Dade County. Microsoft’s new national program, Elevate America, aims to train 2 million Americans in Windows-based skills for the office (http://www.knightcentercommunityconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ict_curriculum_roadmap.pdf), and was inspired by this local program;

• A telemedicine initiative that would provide primary healthcare via interactive video conferencing to the children in Miami-Dade’s 392 public schools.

Stay tuned as Miami-Dade kicks its broadband coalition into high gear. Comments (post below) are welcome.

Miami Knight Foundation: http://www.knightfoundation.org/programs/communities/community_detail/index.dot id=132753

Tags: broadband, Broadband Coalition, Dade County, digital, Elevate America, Elevate Miami, healthcare, Internet, KCoDE, Kim Marcille, Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Miami, Miami Knight Foundation, Microsoft Foundation, network, public schools, telemedicine, ultra high speed broadband network, video conferencing, Windows
Posted in Digital news, Knight Center, OneCommunity, Opinion | No Comments »