American Recovery & Reinvestment Actof 2009 Broadband Initiative

Public MeetingMarch 24, 2009Washington, DC

Public MeetingMarch 24, 2009Washington, DC

Community Economic Development

How broadband can transformrural health care…

1) Challenges of rural health care

2) Importance of rural health care

(for patients and economy)

3) What broadband can do– Improve access/abate shortage crisis

– Improve quality

– Save costs

– Improve rural economy.

Brian Fontes on behalf of NENA, NASNA, PSST, IACP, APCO, NASEMSO and IAFC

• Community safety is a key to economic development• Modern emergency response demands integrated,

information laden, IP-based, applications riding on broadband networks

• Public Safety Services are a major part of any community’s budget and economy

• BB use provides better safety and efficiencies• BB can bridge digital divide for safety in small

communities: access to IT services, information, skills that BB brings

• Expanding use of BB by safety services is a driver for better capacity and service for the rest of the community, while making community more attractive for others

• The implementation of a nationwide public safety 700 MHz wireless BB network is one of the ways to significantly improve public safety communications and information sharing

BROADBAND STIMULUS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: AN ENABLING ROLE FOR SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS (SDBs)

Ronald Johnson, MMTC Policy Committee Member, Managing Partner, Solutions4change LLC

• The BTOP Statutory Requirements for SDB: 8(a) Consideration - see ARRA-Sec.6001(h)(3)

• Purposes of SBA 8(a) Program: develop small disadvantaged businesses, create jobs, economic growth

• Benefits of 8(a) Program for Broadband Deployment and Economic Growth: A key enabler

– Encourages partnerships and teaming arrangements with large entities

– Firms have access to underserved and unserved communities and supporting entities

– Narrows the digital divide among telecom companies and assists with removing “barriers to entry”

– Expands the capacity of the telecom industry to meet its growing capital expenditure requirements

• Advantages of 8(a) Companies to Grant and Loan Applicants

– Already certified by the SBA as to business status, experience, finances, eligibility for government contracts

– Experienced with federal procurement regulations, with a history of meeting stringent federal guidelines

– Provide a logical link to target communities of applicants, and augment existing local relationships

– Support network of agencies including OSDBU and DOC’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

• Impact on Job Creation in Unserved and Underserved Areas

– Promote the hiring of minority groups which have a higher unemployment rate in these areas

– Stimulate the creation of job training programs to raise employment and job sustainability levels

– Create a sense of community ownership as build-out occurs; increase use of broadband products/services

NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF

DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATIONS

USDA-NTIA Broadband Event

Broadband is an essential building block for regional economic competitiveness in small urban and rural areas

NADO supports the ARRA provision targeting projects to distressed areas, including regions served by multi-county EDA Economic Development Districts

Programs should fund diverse group of stakeholders, including public entities

NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF

DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATIONS

Community Economic DevelopmentLessons Learned from Rural America to the South Bronx

In short, following these rules is the best insurance policy for success:

Truism: communities with broadband are more likely to develop and thrive than those that don’t have it.

There is no magic formula for community development: it is an art as well as a science.

Using a paper process relying on “objective factors/statistics” as the basis for investment decisions is risky. . . .

. . . . Like red-lining, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Local organizations and people make a huge difference in development outcomes, e.g., community development corporations (CDCs), civic leaders, entrepreneurs, etc.

Maximizing development success requires building institutional capacity and engaging people with hope, vision, imagination, energy, skills, patience and persistence, plus . . .

. . . providing the help and support they need to:

If at all possible, do your underwriting on the ground in the community;

Don’t invest unless the institutions and people have the “right stuff”, and the community supports their work;

Be prepared to invest long-term in building local capacity; and

If you don’t have the resources to invest in building capacity, find/recruit/involve partners who do.

learn what can be done; and

acquire and use the assets, methods and tools needed to devise and achieve their development goals.

NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF

DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATIONS

Broadband Stimulus, Job Creation, and Economic Development

• ARRA and BTOP Goals and Statutory Requirements

– Create good jobs, stimulate economy

– Prevailing wage (Sec 1606)

– Buy America (Sec 1605)

• Measuring Job Creation

– Learn from federal economic development agencies (EDA, RDA)

– Report Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) direct jobs. Apply input-output model

– Infrastructure Projects. Two kinds of job creation

• During Construction

• Ongoing Operations: Maintenance and Customer Service

– Non-Infrastructure Projects. Jobs created during grant period

• Reporting Benchmarks

– Number of full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs

– Job titles and FTE for each job title

– Average wage and average total compensation for each job title

– Union status

• Timeline

– Application – Forecast job creation - NTIA validate – Award points for job creation and economic impact

– During grant period: Quarterly report

– For infrastructure projects:. 3, 6, 9 years after grant award

• Enforcement, Transparency, and Accountability

– Complaint procedure; project officer oversight & audits; case study research – qualitative impact

NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF

DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATIONS

ARGENTASSOCIATES

ARGENTASSOCIATES

ARGENT

Community Economic Development through BroadbandWhy Broadband is a good Economic Development Engine

• What’s in our future? – Global Online Collaboration & Specialized Knowledge/Skills Banks– Video Communications: Tele Medicine/Classroom/Courtroom, Video Conferencing, Video Quality

Control, Security…– Interactive Entertainment – Faster is the New Fast – The first to market wins, Cycle time months not years

• What can the stimulus of Broadband do?– Stimulate existing industries: Engineering & Installation, Warehousing & Logistics, Cable (Copper &

Fiber), IP and Web Technology, Refurbishing, Recycling, Repair, Call Centers, Construction, Consulting, Telecom…

– Spur New Industries; Virtual Employment, Natural Gas, Compressed Air engines…– Change How We Live; Bridge Digital Divide– Saving Lower Carbon Emissions

• Small Businesses rely on Broadband to grow and expand: – Generated 60-80% of new US jobs, Hire 40 percent of high tech workers, 30% of Exports – Small is the New R&D: Small Businesses Produce 13 times more patents than large firms

• Broadband Stimulus Package Must haves:– Portfolio of participants; small, medium and large businesses – National and Foreign– Small and Minority participation– Participating firms should mentor Local High School and College Students– Encourage Local employment– Encourage US based Technology Development & Manufacturing in partnership with Public Universities– Establish metrics to measure success

Countries with robust broadband infrastructures have a global competitive advantage

NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF

DEVELOPMENT

ORGANIZATIONS

American Recovery & Reinvestment Actof 2009 Broadband Initiative

Public MeetingMarch 24, 2009Washington, DC

Public MeetingMarch 24, 2009Washington, DC