Communities with broadband prosper

One of the problems with community investments in broadband is the lack of data showing the value of such investments. Community leaders are somewhat wary of spending public money on unproven infrastructure. A new study from Carnegia Mellon and MIT shows that communities that have invested in broadband infrastructure are doing better from an economic development perspective than communities that have not.

The research team used extensive government data to analyze these investments and to develop the conclusions--this is not some casual vendor report.

Among the findings are these:

• Increases in employment growth of 1% annually over communities that have not invested in broadband. Over a period of several years, this is extremely significant.
• Property values increase, with rental rates (making rental properties more valuable) were 6% higher.
• A 1/2% higher annual growth rate in businesses; again, aggregated over several years, this is extremely significant.
• Within the IT/high tech business sector, a 1/2% higher annual growth rate in those businesses. Communities with broadband do, in fact, attract more high tech businesses.

In the summary section of the report, here is welcome news for community leaders that have been promoting the benefits of broadband:

"Policy makers who have been spending their time or money promoting broadband should take comfort that their efforts and investments are not in vain.....Broadband is clearly related to economic well-being and is thus a critical componenent of our national communications infrastructure."

In other words, broadband infrastructure investments by the community pay off, by creating jobs and attracting businesses. This is welcome verification, indeed.

Here is the whole article, as a PDF file.