Broadband 'Master Plan' Unveiled for Rural New Hampshire

Broadband access is considered by most to be a key ingredient for encouraging innovation and building a local tech-based economy. Access for many rural areas, however, remains geographically or financially out of reach. Earlier this month, the New Hampshire Rural Development Council (NHRDC) unveiled a plan to change that for the businesses, government and individuals in the northern portion of the Granite State.

Produced by a group of more than 20 regional economic and community development practitioners, the Technology and Telecommunications Master Plan serves as a broad framework that is expected to provide direction to the region. The document is not intended as an implementation plan, but a tool to provide guidance as funding opportunities and projects become available, according to NHRDC.

The plan is divided into two sections, with part one discussing goals and objectives. Part two serves as a technology primer, detailing infrastructure, access, governance, policy and legal issues. General recommendations include:

• Investing in a regional digital transport system;
• Making technology training widely available;
• Supporting the development of rich content and services;
• Ensuring that businesses and entrepreneurs have what they need to succeed; and,
• Developing a governance structure for growth.

Other plans to implement broadband throughout the rural Northeast are underway as businesses and government agencies have realized a need for affordable broadband in order to be economically competitive. According to an Associated Press article, an $8.7 million fiber-optic network is being developed across six rural counties in Vermont, while officials in Maine are working to establish an economic development commission to include all three states and New York.

Northern New Hampshire, comprised of Coos County and the upper half of Carroll and Grafton Counties, has a combined population of 163,191. Small businesses make up about 80 percent of the region, compared to 64 percent statewide. The New Hampshire Telecommunications Master Plan is available at: http://www.northernnhtechnology.org

We're number... five?

The state-by-state, region-by-region approach to ensuring more tech-related businesses and researchers have broadband access comes at a cost, however. The U.S. is falling behind its global competitors in terms of information and communications technology (ICT) readiness, according to the fourth annual Global Information Technology Report, released earlier this month by the World Economic Forum. Singapore ranks as the top economy in exploiting global ICT, while the U.S. dropped to fifth. America's precipitous fall comes after holding first place in the assessment for each of the previous three years.

The report uses the Networked Readiness Index to measure the environment, readiness and usage of ICT across 104 economies worldwide. In explaining the slip in rankings by the U.S., the Forum notes that the drop is due less to actual erosion in performance by the U.S. but rather more to continuing improvements by its competitors.

Australia takes on issue nationally

Australia's Communications Minister Helen Coonan announced last month the federal government's plan to spend more than $300 million to deploy high-speed Internet throughout the country.

"This funding is to encourage the effective delivery of important government services while creating new market opportunities and building the Australian economy," Minister Coonan said. The federal government's plan will work cooperatively with the states, which are developing their own action plans under the national framework.

Funding for programs to support rural broadband deployment in the U.S., on the other hand, could see cuts in excess of 30 percent based on the Administration's FY 2006 budget request (see the USDA discussion in the Feb. 14 issue of the Digest).

For more information on Australia's Broadband Strategy, please visit: http://www.dcita.gov.au/ie/publications/2004/march/australian_national_broadband_strategy