Digital Equity Matters Mary Beth Henry Digital Equity/Broadband - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Digital Equity Matters Mary Beth Henry Digital Equity/Broadband Advocate Oregon Connections October 18, 2018

Digital Equity Matters Agenda  What is digital equity/digital divide/digital inclusion & why does it matter? • What Does the Research Say? • Broadband Policy: Federal & State  Oregon’s Homegrown Success Stories: Access & Digital Inclusion  Community-Building in the Digital Age  Call to Action: • What can we do at the State level? • What can we do as individuals?  Final Thoughts 2

What is Digital Equity? Digital Equity ensures all individuals and communities have the “ information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy, and economy. Digital Equity is necessary for civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and “ access to essential services National Digital Inclusion Alliance 3

What is the Digital Divide?  Refers to the difference/gap between people who have easy access to the Internet, have devices, have digital skills and those who don’t.  The digital divide is really “digital divides”: • Differences between rural and urban Internet access • Socioeconomic differences, people of different races, income levels, education, special needs or disabilities, etc. that affects their ability to access the internet 4

What is Digital Inclusion? Digital Inclusion refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, “ including the most disadvantaged, have access to, and use of, information and communication technologies (ICTs “ 5 - National Digital Inclusion Alliance

5 Elements of Digital Inclusion 1) Affordable, robust broadband Internet service; 2 ) Internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of the user; 3) Access to digital literacy training ; “ 4) Quality technical support ; and 5) Applications and online co ntent designed to enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation, and collaboration. “ 6 - National Digital Inclusion Alliance

Why Does it Matter?  Broadband infrastructure supports and enables everything – it is foundational  Digital skills underpin nearly every aspect of work and life  Economic Opportunity, Democracy, Healthcare, Education, Environment  >$1,850 per household per year in economic benefits  1 in 5 Oregonians don’t have internet at home 7

Broadband Availability in Oregon 8

Oregon is Slightly Above National Average for Speed and Penetration 66% 66% 58% 50% Penetration by Geography 17% 15% Oregon National Oregon Oregon National National 100 Mbps/10 Mbps 10 Mbps/1 Mbps 25 Mbps/3 Mbps 9

However, Speed and Penetration are Not Equitably Distributed Across Oregon Higher penetration Lower penetration Broadband Central Central SW NW North South Total Portland Eastern Status Coast Oregon Oregon Coast Central Central Broadband 82% 85% 83% 83% 79% 78% 76% 69% 67% at home Many rural and urban Oregonians lack broadband access at home 10

Broadband: A Rural-Urban Shared Imperative 11

Low cost Broadband available @ home Connecting training with relevant content & services Achieving Low cost computers available Digital Public access computing centers Equity Regional collaborations/initiatives – partners Funding for program sustainability Outcome-based evaluation Whole community strategy 12

What’s Happening at the Federal Level?  United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service – Additional $600 million coming soon •  National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) BroadbandUSA •  Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Gutting the Lifeline program • Rural broadband availability overstated • Eliminated Net Neutrality & Title II regulation • Tried to redefine broadband • Connect America Fund (CAF) II • eRate • Local government preemption • 13

What’s Happening at the State Level?  Oregon Broadband Advisory Council • Oregon Connections Conference – 23 rd yr. • Rural Broadband Capacity Pilot Program • Local champions • Rural Broadband and Broadband in Oregon reports • Broadband Outreach & Strategic Planning – 8 local plans • Under-resourced  Oregon Universal Service Fund • Expanded to broadband 2017 • eRate: Established, but needs $  Oregon Fiber Partnership  Net Neutrality 14

A Look at What Other States Are Doing  Minnesota  California  Maine 15

Minnesota  Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Development ( 2008): Develops policies and action plans to promote broadband.  Office of Broadband Development ( 2013): Expands high speed broadband access to all households, businesses, schools and government buildings by 2026.  St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) – Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) - AmeriCorps 16

California  California Emerging Technology Fund – (CETF) (2005) Provides leadership statewide to close the "Digital Divide" by accelerating the deployment and adoption of broadband to unserved and underserved communities and populations.  California Broadband Council (2010) To promote broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the state as defined by the Public Utilities Commission, and broadband adoption throughout the state.  Broadband and Digital Literacy Office The Mission is to establish digital literacy throughout the state of California. Goal 98% of state to have broadband access 17 and 90% adoption by 2023

Maine  ConnectME (2006): establishes unserved/underserved criteria, promotes use, supports investment, facilitates state support, collects and disseminates info, and administers funds. Broadband Action Plan June 2018 – State to pay 25% of cost of rural • deployment for unserved (defined as < 25/3). Maine goal is 100/10  Axiom: Private rural provider (2004)  Axiom Education & Training Center • National Digital Equity Center/ Maine Digital Inclusion Initiative (2017) • Americorps 18

Community Networks Across the Country 19

Douglas Fast Net Eastern Oregon Oregon’s Telecom Homegrown SandyNet Success EugNet Stories: MINET Broadband Access OnlineNW LS Networks 20

Douglas Fast Net  Formed by Douglas Electric Coop (2001)  Partners  Roseburg and Douglas County  Douglas County Fire District #2  State of Oregon  Mercy Medical Center  Umpqua Community College  Nine city governments, thirteen school districts, countless business and medical facilities and residential.  $39.99 to $89.99 per month (100MPS to 1 Gig)  11,000 active circuits that include residential and non- residential 21

Eastern Oregon Telecom  Hermiston/Umatilla County  EOT was formed in 1999, and was initially owned by Umatilla and Douglas Electric Coops, four telephone cooperatives and a telecommunications consulting firm  Initially offering telephone services, EOT expanded to high-speed internet in 2003  Employee buyout to facilitate expansion  All bi-lingual staff  3,500 customers 22 .

SandyNet  Municipal broadband utility: started with wireless  Partnered with OFS & launched fiber construction in 2014  Take rate was 60% in first year, has grown to 68%  300 Mbps synchronous - $39.95  1 Gbps synchronous – $59.95 23

EUGNET  Economic Development Partnership – City of Eugene, Eugene Water and Electric Board, Lane Council of Governments, with support from Technology Association of Oregon  Open Access – publicly owned and available to lease by any ISP  About 70 buildings have signed up to connect  About 10 x faster and half the cost of other providers  New businesses and existing businesses expanding 24

In the Mid-Willamette Valley MINET  Cities of Monmouth & Independence  Lit up triple-play fiber to the home system in 2007  Leveraging network for education and economic development  Key assets are agility and alignment  Proximity to University partners (WOU, OSU)  Agricultural technology is a niche

Dayton & Willamina  Develop strategic partnerships: Critical one being Innovate Oregon, a part of the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO)  Create a new story: Build the first 10 Gig fiber network on the West Coast, introduce new Agile mindsets, skillsets and toolsets to the school and community, build an Innovation Fund with revenues from the network subscribers  Focus on the big story: Creating a new “opportunity paradigm” for rural communities  Tell the story: Use resources from the community to share the story both within the communities and to other communities

Public Private Partnership • LS Networks funded middle mile and POP • City funded local fiber distribution • Combined efforts provide 100% fiber coverage for the community Open Network • Any Internet Service Provider (ISP) can participate • Currently 2 ISPs participating in program “Better Broadband than Portland” • GIGABIT Internet for $70 • Schools now have access to high speed broadband • 4G Wireless coverage improvement • Foundation for economical growth • Remote teleworkers relocating to Maupin • Increased audience for local businesses

Low Cost Internet in Oregon  Discount Internet Guidebook  Comcast Internet Essentials  CenturyLink Internet Basics  Spectrum Internet Assist  Frontier