Bob Rowe, from the Montana Public Service Commission, is the first speaker in this session.
Rowe says that states have a role in assisting regional deployment of infrastructure and to coordinate facilities permitting.
Local governments have much potential, and can do training, form buying pools, encourage local government investments in infrastructure, and promote egovernment.
The FCC Section 706 Report from September, 2004 notes that the FCC defines broadband as 200 kilobits/second or faster, that the US still lags the rest of the world in broadband deployment, and that the FCC has a mission to encourage "reasonable and timely deployment."
Bill Gillis, from the Center to Bridge the Digital Divide, is the next speaker. Gillis says that we can learn from "innovation businesses."
He says that an innovation business is knowledge intensive, makes extensive use of technology, is creative and flexible with respect o workforce functions, has a global business perspective, and has entrepreneurial management.
Gillis says that states can facilitate exchange of ideas, help the last 30% of residents that do not have broadband service, can help prepare the workforce for the innovation economy, and provide flexible gap capital. Innovation businesses are driving demand for broadband in rural areas.
The final speaker is Al Hammond, from the Santa Clara School of Law and the Alliance for Public Technology.
Hammond says that large parts of rural America lack adequate broadband services, with smaller towns at a real disavantage--only 5% of towns of 10,000 population or less have broadband.
BPL (Broadband over Power Lines) is getting a lot of interest. There are more electric lines to homes and businesses than phone lines, so BPL potentially can be widely deployed. At least 5 companies are manufacturing BPL equipment.
25 million homes have no cable modem or DSL service, and satellite broadband is becoming more affordable, with Wild Blue, a new statellite company, will be offering Internet access for about $50/month. TV programming will also be available, unlike some other satellite broadband systems.
BPL issues include whether or not public utilities are cross-subsidizing BPL (and/or should be allowed to), universal service, open access issues (open vs. closed network), right of way issues, and whether a BPL provider is a utility, a telecomm provider, or a broadband provider.