Joy Howell from the “How Broadband Changed My Life” Campaign
Joy Howell from the ‘How Broadband Changed My Life’ Campaign recently talked about all the benefits associated with broadband, from telemedicine to distance learning to telecommuting. Click here to listen to her comments.
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Health and Human Services Announces New Program Using Electronic Health Records
HHS recently announced a new program providing bonuses to doctors using electronic health records - part of a broader push that may yet include new legislation by year’s end. The new program will provide through Medicare about $150 million extra over five years to physicians in selected areas who replace paper medical records with electronic versions.
Click here to listen to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt’s announcement
Broadband Enhances the Entertainment Experience
Devices that deliver high-quality video over broadband networks are a hit with consumers. For example, Netflix, the pioneering online DVD rental service, recently rolled out its Netflix Player device which allows Netflix subscribers to access Netflix’s library of movies and TV shows instantly over their broadband connections.
Response to the new service has been enthusiastic, to say the least:
Less than one month after introducing a set-top box that allows “instant” viewing over a broadband connection, Netflix says that the current supply of devices has sold out. CEO Reed Hastings did not disclose any sales figures, but he told Bloomberg News that the company is pressing their supplier, Roku Inc., to step up production. The backlog of orders will reportedly take six to eight weeks to fulfill.
Devices such as the Netflix Player are increasingly finding their way into the nation’s living rooms. Without broadband, this kind of on-demand access to high-bandwidth content would not be possible.
Forks, Washington: Where Rural Doesn’t Mean Technologically Relegated
At WSU Extension, we are helping rural Washington transition from its former economic base of timber-, fishing- and mining-related jobs to economies based on technology. The broadband and telecom infrastructure needed for such a transition is fundamental to the success of teleworking, as is the commitment of the community to cultivate teleworker jobs and attract people with the right skills to fill them.
Thanks to the vision of the Forks community, which formed a public-private partnership in 2001 to build a digital backbone along the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, the area has the broadband infrastructure necessary to support advanced telework applications. Forks also has the other two ingredients to make rural telework work: workforce development capacity and interest in finding and securing jobs for information workers.
That’s where Washington State University Extension comes in. As coordinator for our telework efforts, I work with community, business, and government leaders to create jobs and cultivate the innovative and flexible leadership capabilities needed to sustain holistic rural telework initiatives, such as the one in Forks.
Leveraging Broadband to Optimize Medical Care
Many people think of access to broadband as an economic issue, or maybe a social issue. Speaking as someone who is in the business of saving lives, I believe broadband is a health care issue.
I spoke last week to the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association, because I believe the work we are doing at the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin depends on what our state and nation are doing to ensure that all communities, including rural areas, have access to high-speed Internet. We leverage broadband to optimize medical care.
The Marshfield Clinic serves most of northern Wisconsin through 43 regional centers, with more than 1,000 physicians and non-physician providers. In 2007, we had 3.5 million patient encounters.
Telecommuting: A Common Interest
With U.S. gas prices rising on average 17 cents in the last two weeks, and crude oil expected to hit $200 per barrel, the case for telework and telecommuting is more compelling than ever. A recent study projects that an estimated 1.35 billion gallons of gasoline could be conserved annually if U.S. workers telecommuted an average of just 1.6 days per week.
The Telework Coalition, TelCoa, has long been leading the movement to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, promote a cleaner environment, and improve economic efficiency and quality of life through telecommuting. The Telework Coalition works to enable virtual and mobile work through research, education, technology and legislation by focusing the efforts of companies, governments at all levels, nonprofits and individuals around this common interest.
Our landmark benchmarking study gathered important data from 13 organizations that collectively have more than 77,000 teleworkers and nearly 60,000 additional mobile workers. We examined telework programs that have been in place for an average of 10 years. Our study found that many of these programs are growing as the always-on, mobile workforce is increasingly enabled with broadband Internet access and mobile devices.
The National Governors Association: State Efforts to Expand Broadband Access
The National Governors Association recently put out a report on state efforts to expand broadband access. As the “collective voice” of U.S. governors, the NGA recognizes the economic and social promise broadband holds, for helping businesses grow, increasing access to health care or enhancing public safety – to name a few. States play a prominent role in helping the private sector identify opportunities to expand broadband access.
NGA’s report offers a state-by-state rundown of programs and incentives implemented to expand broadband use. Our research highlights how broadband access spurs economic development, attracts new businesses to a community and improves overall quality of life. We specifically highlighted important developments in broadband, such as telemedicine, distance learning and faster information sharing in the public safety sector.
Ken Kelly of the Children’s Partnership Discusses Broadband Access
NextGenWeb recently attended an event hosted by the Alliance for Public Technology. The event featured Ken Kelly, Director of the Washington DC office of The Children’s Partnership, who spoke about the mission of the organization and the positive effect broadband access has on the nation’s youth.
Click below to view NextGenWeb’s interview with Ken Kelly and to hear stories of how broadband technology is rapidly improving the way America’s children learn, communicate and grow.
NextGenWeb Rural Health Care Briefing
Nextgenweb recently hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on rural health care. Walter B. McCormick, Jr. (President & CEO, USTelecom, The Broadband Association) moderated the panel which discussed how broadband brings more accessible and cost-efficient health care to rural Americans. The panelists included Michael Manley (Outreach Director, UAMS Center for Distance Health) and Nina Marie Antoniotti, Ph.D (Program Director, Marshfield Clinic TeleHealth Network). Both Michael and Nina discussed the benefits broadband provides to rural communities. Michael pointed to the increasing demand for specialized care in rural communities of Arkansas while Nina highlighted how broadband is bringing world class healthcare to rural communities in Wisconsin.
Click below to watch highlights of their presentations.
NextGenWeb Speaks with the Delta Regional Authority on the Importance of Broadband Deployment in Rural America
Rex Nelson of the Delta Regional Authority delivered a podcast interview with NextGenWeb discussing the social and economic conditions of the Mississippi Delta Region and why he believes broadband access is vital to the region’s future. Mr. Nelson explains the mission of the federal-state partnership to give a voice to the residents of the region and identify economic growth opportunities. In this podcast interview he highlights the role technology plays in rural communities of the delta region and how residents have leveraged information technology to improve the quality of life in one of the poorest areas of the country. Mr. Nelson also highlights several e-health and distance learning initiatives currently in the Delta Region, as well as the specific details of workforce programs in the Delta Regional Authority development policy plan. These initiatives have been highlighted in a comprehensive plan titled “iDelta: Information Technology in the Delta”.
Click here to listen to the podcast
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