1. The Intersection of Broadband and Economic Development
Nate Walowitz
Regional Broadband Program Director

2. Broadband = Economic Development
Attract and keep businesses in Northwest Colorado
Access to regional, national, and international economy and market
Maintain population base and young families by supporting their career and lifestyle choices
Benefit for part time residents and tourists driving business and sales tax revenues
Increase property values and expanded sales

3. Broadband Access by the Numbers
The National Digital Divide – 2016 snapshot [1]
92.7% of Americans have broadband access
97.9% of urban population have at least 25/3 Mbps access
30% of rural population lacks access to broadband
Colorado Divide
50,000 Colorado households lack access to 10/1 Mbps
150,000 Colorado households lack access to 25/3 [2]
[1] FCC 2018 Broadband Deployment Report
[2] “What is the Broadband Fund” DORA 2018

4. Economic Development Research
Two decades of research on link between broadband and economic development
Thompson and Garbacz – 10% increase in broadband penetration associated with 3.6% increase in economic efficiency [3]
Kuttner – Rural broadband providers in Colorado provided a total economic impact of $300M and 840 jobs in 2015 [4]
Little – Doubling of broadband speeds resulted in a 0.3% increase in GDP
Little – 10% increase in broadband penetration (adoption) translates into at 1% GDP increase
[3] “Broadband Impacts on State GDP: Direct and Indirect Impacts” H.G. Thompson Jr. and C. Garbacz
[4] “The Economic Impact of Rural Broadband (2016) H. Kuttner
Source: The Social Impact of Broadband – Colwell Schumann Shakfa
Definition Economic Efficiency - Economic efficiency implies an economic state in which every resource is optimally allocated to serve each individual or entity in the best way while minimizing waste and inefficiency. When an economy is economically efficient, any changes made to assist one entity would harm another.

5. Social Impact Research
Red Cliff , Colorado
75% of survey respondents drove an average of 10 miles to gain access to broadband
Broadband service adoption 65%
69% indicated broadband would have an extremely positive impact on the community
31% indicated moderately positive impact on community
62% knew someone who would work from home using broadband (forgo the work commute)
75% of respondents indicated they would have a high interest in telehealth
Calling over WiFi will enable them to use their cell phones at home and 75% would replace existing landline phone with internet based calling
Source: The Social Impact of Broadband – Colwell Schumann Shakfa

6. Rural Broadband and Millennials
“When they live in rural remote areas, millennials are more likely to reside in a county that has better digital access.”
Entire population growth is US of 14.4 million between 2010 and 2016, 94.6 % were located in metro counties compared to 1.6% in rural counties
When looking at only rural counties millennial populations increase where the digital divide was lowest 2.3% (Also occurs in metro and small cities)
Considering completely rural counties 420 in US, those with lowest digital divide experience a 13.5% increase in millennials (2010 – 2016)
Conclusions: “If you just look at overall numbers, our population is behaving just like they did in the industrial age – moving to cities where jobs and people are concentrated. Rural areas that lag in broadband connectivity and digital literacy will continue to suffer from these old trends.” “…. Any community attempting to retain or retract millennials need to address their digital divide both in terms of broadband access and adotion/use/”
Source: “When it comes to broadband millennials vote with their feet” April 11, 2018 The Daily Yonder Print

7. Rural Broadband Needs
Resilient middle mile to provide minimal connection outages
Affordability - Pricing and Speeds that match business and consumer needs
Robust symmetric bandwidth to allow upload speeds for business and work from home residents
Rural broadband deployments do not provide return on investment for existing providers
Public Private Partnerships are essential to support rural broadband deployments

8. Local Broadband Initiatives
Create local consensus and alliance
Dig-Once
Small Cell Policy
Local Building Code and Standards
Opportunities for additional providers
Bury open-access conduit when ground is opened
Municipal fiber network
Jurisdiction-wide aggregation

9. Funding Options Public Funding Private Funding
Local Bonding, Sales Tax, EID
FCC, USDA, DOLA, DORA
Senate Bill
Private Funding
Venture Capital
Private telecom funding (match contributions)
CDOT funding linked to DOT and NTIA

10. NWCCOG Regional Broadband Program
Regional Broadband Director
Technical Assistance
Planning, RFP, and Deployment Support
Collaboration across jurisdictions
Coordinate support from CBPO, CDOT, DOLA, DORA
FirstNet and Public Safety Communications
Grant support for DOLA, DORA, SIPA ($6M+ to region)
5 Year Report
Broadband education
Support for CU ITP Program
Project THOR

11. Takeaways
Every community is unique – one size does not fit all
Community, Regional, and State collaboration is essential to drive broadband process
State funding for regional and local broadband planning and project funding is critical
YOU have control of your community’s economic and social future through broadband deployment and adoption

12. Conversation