We often highlight how broadband is environmentally friendly by enabling the smart grid and allowing commuters to travel less thanks to telecommuting. Now AT&T, in collaboration with the Carbon Disclosure Project, has joined the chorus by releasing a study showing just how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is enabling products and services such as video conferencing and telepresence for businesses all around the globe.

The report, titled “The Telepresence Revolution”, looks into how these products and services are reducing carbon emissions, providing energy-efficient alternatives to business travel, and reducing costs. A few of the interesting finding are below. You may also be interested in a recent NextGenWeb interview with Beth Shiroishi of AT&T discussing the study.

· At an economy-wide view, by 2020 US and UK businesses with annual revenues of more than $1 billion can cut nearly 5.5 million CO2 emissions as a result of deploying almost 10,000 telepresence units. These reductions are equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from over one million passenger vehicles.

· US firms can reduce CO2 by 112,000 tonnes in 2010 to 963,000 tonnes in 2020. A total of almost 4.6 million tonnes in cumulative CO2 cuts.

· For US firms, net financial benefits from telepresence increase from $315 million in 2010 to over $3.5 billion in 2020. A total of over $15 billion in ten years.

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The following is a guest posting by Graham Richard, former Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Graham Richard

States are essential to broadband expansion according to a new Pew Center report. As a way to promote economic growth, states are beginning to view broadband Internet as a means to deliver important and necessary services like education and health care. “By some measures, many states lack capacity-dedicated staff and resources-to develop and implement new broadband policies, negotiate effectively with private-sector providers or resolve thorny infrastructure issues, such as coordinating access across many different jurisdictions for fiber cable or utility pole attachments,” Pew’s report states. Focusing on broadband deployment is nearly impossible when states lack adequate staff, resources and implementation plans.

This is the reason we need more leaders who understand the value of broadband and public private partnerships like the one I facilitated as mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Fort Wayne and Verizon teamed up to make the city one of the first in the country to have fiber-optic broadband service (FiOS). This venture generated new business for Fort Wayne and resulted in significant cost-savings for the city. Broadband Internet allowed Indiana clinics to put medical records online giving doctors instant access, enabling them to treat patients more efficiently and effectively. And that’s just one example.

Check out my website for more ideas on how to bring broadband to your area.

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A new research report warns Net neutrality regulation is a catalyst for severe job loss and diminished investment for the broadband industry. Research authors Charles Davidson and Bret Swanson believe policymakers should be doing what they can to foster not stifle job creation. The report shows “large investments and rapid innovation across the ecosystem have been spurred by the light-touch regulatory approach taken by the FCC over the last several years.” Without regulatory burdens, experts forecast continued investment and job growth. On the other hand, enacting regulation on broadband Internet could have damaging effects.

Read the full report.

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In a Detroit News letter to the editor, Mike Jude discussed the potential impact of Net neutrality on the 95% of Americans who access high speed Internet services. Dr. Jude oversaw a study by Frost & Sullivan, finding “that even with a light regulatory touch, net neutrality could impose a $7 billion a year overhead on the economy with a commensurate loss of 70,000 anticipated jobs in 2011.”

Frost & Sullivan’s study also says Net neutrality legislation could “hamper the FCC’s stated goal of universal broadband — helping every American get online,” costing customers nearly $55 more per month. The legislation would force service providers to charge customers to “support network deployment and management.”

Read some of Dr. Jude’s other articles:

New regulations, rules could bump up access charges
May 11, 2010

Net Neutrality: A Tax on the Internet
May 6, 2010

Net neutrality regulations could endanger wireless carriers’ business
March 12, 2010

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“The question should not be, ‘How do we divide the pie fairly?’ The real question should be, ‘How do we continue to grow the pie?’”

So said Richard Feasey, Public Policy Director of Vodafone, when presenting the findings of a report titled “The Economics of the Internet” on Thursday. The main crux of Feasey’s report focused on the economics of what has become known as the “Internet Ecosystem.”

According to Feasey, there is a lack of real understanding on the part of the global policy community when it comes to understanding the economics of the Internet. Most policy discussions are focused on the consumer side of things, while the majority of Internet revenue is actually generated in relatively obscure business-to-business transactions. These transactions include everything from hardware, software, devices and infrastructure.

Though Feasey’s report and overall tone took on a global characteristic, he did focus on the US by stating, “What happens in the US sets the pace for the rest of the world in terms of Internet policy.” This is why making informed policy decisions at home is so important, and understanding the true economics of the Internet can go along way in achieving that goal.

Finally, Feasey dove into specifics about revenue, investment and rate of return for different sectors of the Internet economy. One of the most interesting examples came when comparing online advertising revenue and broadband infrastructure investment. Feasey found that if all online ad revenue were given to broadband providers, it still would not be enough to fund their current levels of infrastructure investment. And those same broadband providers that are investing billions of dollars per year are receiving a return on investment that is below or equal to the vast majority of S&P 500 companies.

Simply put, the economy of the Internet would not be as valuable without America’s broadband providers who are investing billions in the infrastructure that has now delivered broadband to 95% of Americans. That is a good American story to tell.

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What role does broadband play in disaster response and recovery? An important and versatile one, according to a panel of experts who spoke today at the Brookings Institute. The panel, titled “Telehealth and Mobile Communications: The New Frontier in Modern Emergency Preparedness,” featured Dr. Alexander Vo, Executive Director of the AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy at the University of Texas at Galveston, Marion Orr, Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions at Brown University, and Joe Becker, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services at the American Red Cross.

Becker discussed the results of a recent survey that aimed to determine the likelihood of people to evacuate when faced with the prospect of a looming natural disaster. He also talked about how social media is dramatically changing the way leaders in the emergency response sector are doing business, citing the American Red Cross specifically. Becker also touched on the importance of leveraging technologies that people use in their every day life and making them part of the disaster response equation.

Dr. Alexander Vo discussed a recent study released by the University of Texas Medical Branch titled, “UTMB Telemedicine Disaster Response and Recovery: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike.” The study examines the role of broadband in delivering telemedicine applications, especially in the event of a natural disaster or major emergency. Vo stressed the importance of telemedicine networks partnering with state and local governments as well as commercial broadband providers in order to ensure that the information is delivered reliably. Dr. Vo made what is sure to be a splash for those who get caught up in the “rankings” game. When asked what country is setting the example in telemedicine programs, Dr. Vo answered the United States in both application and practice, with a major contributing factor being broadband infrastructure availability.

Click below to watch more from Dr. Vo in his exclusive interview with NextGenWeb.

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Broadband can be a key player in driving the United States towards a new “Green Economy.” That was the message delivered by four organizations on Capitol Hill this week. The Progressive States Network, in collaboration with the Blue Green Alliance, the Sierra Club and Communications Workers of America, unveiled a new report titled, “Networking the Green Economy: How Broadband and Related Technologies Can Build a Green Economic Future.”

Nathan Newman, Executive Director of the Progressive States Network, said that broadband can reduce energy in various ways, including smart meters in homes and businesses, telehealth, teleconference and telecommuting, and e-commerce. Newman also stressed the immense cost savings that broadband would bring in these same sectors. See NGW’s interview with Newman below.

Annie Hill, Executive Vice President for the Communications Workers of America, carried a jobs message and said that increased broadband deployment brings with it immense opportunity for gainful employment. “Investment in the green economy is the job creator of the 21st century, and broadband is part of that investment,” Hill said.

Allison Chin, President of the Sierra Club, discussed broadband and smart meters. Chin stressed the importance of ubiquitous broadband so that all consumers can track their energy usage, and in turn be more energy efficient. Check out NGW’s interview with the Sierra Club President below.

As the event drew to a close, Congressman Ed Markey, Chairman of the US House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, congratulated the organizations for their work on the report. He stressed the importance of the transition to a new green economy, and the fundamental role broadband will play in that transition.

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The FCC has made clear that data will be a core component and driver of the upcoming National Broadband Plan, which is due to Congress on March 17^th.    To better meet their need for data, the FCC commissioned a survey to determine broadband adoption rates, the American public’s attitudes about broadband, and reasons why people may not subscribe to broadband.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski stood before a room filled with broadband policy stakeholders at the Brookings Institute yesterday to introduce FCC Consumer Research Director John Horrigan before he presented the results.  The Chairman said he was “excited and proud of this development in our broadband work,” citing goals like remaining globally competitive, increasing our capacity to innovate, and embracing broadband for solving societal issues like education, healthcare, and the environment.

Horrigan started off by sharing some positive trends in adoption, including that 78% of Americans are Internet users and 65% use broadband at home, with increases among communities like Hispanics and rural-Americans.  However, the 35% of those without broadband at home are the real concern, and as Genachowski said in his introduction, “there is no silver bullet to solving adoption.”

Horrigan took this survey as an opportunity to delve deeper into the non-adopter community.  He had respondents list reasons for non-adoption that included general attitudes about broadband use to better understand and therefore address those issues.   He also took the additional step of categorizing those people as “Digital Hopefuls,” “Near Converts,” “Digitally Distant,” and “Digitally Uncomfortable” to indicate their likelihood of conversion.

Watch the interview below with John Horrigan for more information and click here to read the results report in its entirety.

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At an event in the U.S. Capitol today hosted by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc., a group of leaders in the technology community, led by IIA co-chairs Bruce Mehlman and David Sutphen, discussed findings in a survey performed by former Obama Campaign pollster Cornell Belcher. The survey, conducted among 900 respondents in the African American and Hispanic communities, focused on broadband access, adoption and affordability.

Consistent with findings often referenced in the Pew Internet & American Life Project , Belcher’s study shows that cost and access are not the primary barriers – if barriers at all – to consumers in the African American and Hispanic communities choosing whether or not they adopt high-speed Internet service. Instead, once again we see the term “relevance” enter the equation, meaning there are people who are not making the connection between the Internet and an enhanced quality of life. Access to health care, education resources, the ability to stay connected with family, and entertainment are just a few of the things brought to us over broadband. In short, some in the African American and Hispanic communities – and beyond – still don’t see the Internet as a “game-changer.”

Navarrow Wright, President of Maximum Leverage Solutions, has become a leading voice on these and other broadband and technology issues. Wright attributes his professional success to not only embracing the Internet, but his ability and desire to understand and use it as a platform where he could showcase his talents. Wright, who recently called into question the need for a debate on Net neutrality, said that the government’s broadband policy needs to focus primarily on helping people understand the real value that the Internet has to their lives. Be sure to check out our interview with Navarro below.

These were themes echoed by other panelists, including Sylvia Aguilera, Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership. Ms. Aguilera said specifically that broadband policy needs to focus on closing the digital divide, bringing employment opportunities to minority communities and tying broadband deployment to aggressive adoption programs.

The conversation then turned to the noise around the current Net neutrality debate, which has been amplified via the FCC’s open Internet proceeding. The panelists seemed frustrated at the attention Net neutrality is getting – as well as the resources and time being dedicated to that debate which they feel would be better-suited on more pressing issues, like educating consumers on the importance and relevance of high-speed Internet.

Wright said there are no concrete reasons the Net neutrality supporters can point too that justify placing new regulations on the Internet. Further, he asked how the government could create rules for everyone on the Internet when we still have so much work to do to get more people online. Ms. Aguilera picked up on that point saying that Net neutrality will not help close the digital divide. She said the time being spent on discussing the Net neutrality issue is taking away from collaborating on more pressing broadband issues facing the Hispanic community.

In a very healthy, candid discussion on challenges minority communities face when it comes to adopting broadband, one thing was clear – Net neutrality isn’t the answer. And worse, it detracts from a more pressing dialogue that needs to focus on the education of those who are not embracing the many promises that come with having a high-speed Internet connection.

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The American Consumer Institute hosted an event on Capitol Hill today to release their latest study, “The Internet Ecosystem: Employment Impacts of National Broadband Policy.” The study offers a third path to addressing today’s economic challenges.  Instead of looking to traditional fiscal and monetary solutions, the author, Dr. Larry Darby, suggests identifying the sectors, like technology, that are creating jobs and avoid adding additional regulatory burdens that might interfere with them.

Dr. Darby, along with co-authors Steve Posciask and Dr. Joseph Fuhr, demonstrates in the study the dramatic impact Net neutrality regulations would have on network investment.  “And you don’t get jobs without investment,” Dr. Darby said.  He urged the room of Hill staff to consider not only the past failures of other government-run Internet networks, but to think about the long term economic opportunities with companies that consistently reinvest their capital.  Nowhere is this more relevant than in this most recent study where empirical data shows how much investment broadband providers commit to America’s communications infrastructure.

You can watch the event in its entirety below.  Click here to download a copy of the report.

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