John Thomasian
Director of Best Practices
National Governors Association

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.

In telemedicine, for example, we cite recent California data showing that 83 percent of parents with children who have special health care needs drive more than one hour to visit a specialist. Broadband allows doctors to examine patients remotely, thus eliminating geographic barriers and increasing access to quality health care for patients living in rural areas.  In addition, many patients with illnesses such as diabetes that require regular vital sign reporting can benefit from telemedicine because it lowers the cost of interacting with health care professionals. While some telemedicine applications are possible with slower connections, many advanced applications, such as video conferencing, digital X-ray transmission and remote monitoring, require speeds of 10 megabits per second or more.

To spread these benefits to a greater number of people in a greater number of areas, our report shows that states have used a variety of strategies to incentivize broadband providers to expand service to unserved areas. These include:

• Establishing a task force with public and private stakeholders to evaluate current broadband deployment and identify beneficial policy changes.

• Providing tax incentives to encourage investment in broadband infrastructure as well as related equipment and expenses.

• Dedicating funding that allows states to leverage private-sector funds for investing in infrastructure, thus maximizing the return on investment and expanding broadband availability in the most efficient way.

• Mapping broadband availability to help both policymakers and service providers determine where to focus their efforts and to reveal gaps in service to providers who wish to expand their offerings.

• Engaging local communities to increase grassroots demand that encourages providers to deploy broadband in previously unserved areas.

Among those states that have established public-private task forces are California, Hawaii and Maryland.  Chiefly, the task forces evaluate the current state of broadband deployment and identify policy changes needed to expand access and adoption.  For example, the California Broadband Task Force, created by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, not only provided recommendations for achieving ubiquitous access but also created regional broadband maps that detailed broadband availability and connection speed.

The states that use tax incentives, including Georgia, Missouri and Mississippi, direct these at businesses and consumers to encourage broadband infrastructure development or broadband adoption. For example, Georgia offers a tax credit of up to $1,200 to employees who participate in programs that encourage telecommuting, which increases the demand for broadband in all communities.  Other states, such as Vermont, have dedicated funding to attract broadband service providers to the state and promote ubiquitous access across their communities.

In addition, states such as Tennessee have initiated efforts to map broadband availability to identify gaps in service coverage, and many states, such as Kentucky, have undertaken efforts to encourage communities toward broadband adoption.  Kentucky contributed approximately $7.5 million over three years for the ConnectKentucky program.  This contribution has funded an ongoing effort that includes continual mapping, community outreach and research.

The National Governors Association understands the critical need to expand broadband to promote economic growth and improve quality of life.   As you can see from our report, states are using a wide variety of effective policies and public-private partnerships to expand the broadband infrastructure.  That’s a goal we can all get behind.