By Howard Baldwin, Contributing Columnist
Two reports issued recently on global broadband adoption reveal a dim outlook for the United States when it comes to competitive parity. This is merely the latest assessment that raises the question — when will America attain parity within the key economic centers of the nation?
Tags: broadband, competitiveness, education, global networked economy, public policy
By Howard Baldwin, Contributing Columnist
When it comes to proving the benefits of broadband deployment, we frequently focus on the macroeconomic issues – the big-picture impact of infrastructure and access to high-speed networking. But the Internet Innovation Alliance and the Small Business Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC) recently looked at broadband from a microeconomic standpoint.
In their report, Start-Up Savings: Boosting Entrepreneurship through Broadband Internet, jointly issued last month, they calculated how much small businesses can save by conducting their administrative activities online. The answer: a substantial $16,550.52.
Tags: broadband, economic development, entrepreneurs, small business, smb, SME
Last week I spoke with Louis Zacharilla and Robert Bell co-founders of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). They were both very busy getting ready to announce the Intelligent Community of the Year at the Building the Broadband Economy summit in New York City June 6-8.
Each year, ICF presents an awards program for Intelligent Communities and the public-sector and private-sector partners who contribute to them.
This year the 2012 Revolutionary keynote theme will be Intelligent Communities: Platforms for Innovation. Innovation is one of ICF’s five Indicators, but the special theme will focus on how Intelligent Communities create uniquely powerful innovation ecosystems on a foundation of information and communications technology. Innovation in Intelligent Communities brings together business, government and institutions in a dynamic partnership that produces results ranging from better and cheaper service delivery to citizens to the birth and growth of entrepreneurial businesses and vital new institutions.
There is a nice synergy between the Cisco Smart+Connected Communities and the Intelligent Communities recognized by ICF.
This year’s ICF finalists include:
Do you know any communities that deserve to be recognized?
Tags: broadband, Connected Government, innovation, intelligent community, network platform
Earlier this week, I attended the UN’s Broadband Commission meeting in Ohrid, Macedonia, where we discussed initiatives to reach the Commission’s goals by 2015:
1) All countries have national broadband plans;
2) Broadband is affordable in developing countries so that entry-level broadband services cost less than 5% of average month income;
3) Broadband is adopted by 40% of households in developing countries; and that
4) Broadband penetration reaches 60% of the worldwide population and 50% in developing countries
To support this vision of an ever expanding Internet that people see as essential, Cisco sponsored the 83rd Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meeting last week in Paris. At the IETF, more than 1,400 of the leading Internet engineers and technologists from around the world gathered to further develop the standards which provide the foundation for Internet services such as domain names, email, the Web, and instant messaging.
The IETF is nearing its 30th year of developing standards that have contributed to an Internet that is now utilized by over two billion people, fostered by a governance model that is largely self-regulatory and multi-stakeholder.
The Internet has grown up and is now essential to the 21st century global economy and a key driver of social development. But current challenges remain, such as extending the Internet to under-served areas and people, especially through wireless technology, and addressing issues of trust.
To achieve the UN Broadband Commission’s goal, and to expand the use of the Internet to the next billion, and the four billion people after that, the IETF and the Internet’s multi-stakeholder technical community must continue to address challenges, getting ahead of issues before they become problems.
The tremendous rate of growth of the Internet has been fueled by conscious decisions along the way that provided a vibrant and open environment where innovation flourishes. The Internet was not an accident. The technical community, encompassing the IETF and others, plays a critical role in leading efforts to continue this rapid expansion of the benefits of connectivity, while ensuring the future and freedom of the Internet. And we are committed to the IETF as one of the key forums where Internet standards are developed and core Internet principles are protected and fostered.
Tags: 2015 goals, broadband, ietf, internet, Macedonia, multi-stakeholder community, UN Broadband Commission
By Howard Baldwin, Contributing Columnist
When most of us were in school, our teachers instructed us to “show our work.” It wasn’t enough that we came to a conclusion; we had to demonstrate how we had arrived at that conclusion.
That’s why this October 2011 report on the socioeconomic effect of fiber to the home (FTTH), sponsored by the Swedish government’s broadband council, Bredbandsforum, is so interesting: the authors, Marco Forzati and Crister Mattsson, show exactly how they arrived at their numbers — achieving a positive payback of 1.5:1 in five years.
Tags: broadband, fiber network, FTTH, ROI, socioeconomic development, Sweden
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