Reinventing Local Economies Using Technology as a Tool to Create, Retain and Expand Jobs

Transcription

1 CASE STUDY BROADBAND AS AN ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Reinventing Local Economies Using Technology as a Tool to Create, Retain and Expand Jobs A Shared Vision for Broadband in Southwest Wisconsin Session One February 18, 2014 NORTHWOODS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT COALITION

2 IT ALL STARTED WITH A PLAN.... and a decision Compliance Document or Operative Document Wisc. Stat mandated that every unit of government complete and adopt a 20-year comprehensive plan by Jan 1, 2010

3 THE ACTIVE PATH vs THE PASSIVE PATH If you fail to plan, then you can plan to fail. But you will still fall short if you fail to follow your plan. Once you commit to the decision to jump on the operative highway, you are on an inevitable path to achievement and implementation

4 A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS AN EXISTING CONDITION REPORT Your comprehensive plan provides a baseline of where you are and some ideas of where you want to go. Next you must focus on those areas that will give your community both strategic and tactical advantages Three Lakes decided that the best possible high speed internet (broadband) and cell phone coverage were the fundamental underpinnings to all it hoped to accomplish in the next 20 years

5 Someone had to step up and be the early adopter role model for the region Three Lakes added technology as an additional element to its 20-year plan and committed to becoming The Anchor for Technology in the Northwoods a bold plan to do what few unserved or underserved rural communities had ever accomplished Today, about 90% of Three Lakes (Oneida County) residents have access to at least one provider, and some can choose from among as many as four providers. The town is closing in on the time when 100% have at least one choice, regardless of how remotely located their property may be in the 100 sq. mi. which comprises the township. In this small, rural Northwoods community the highest speed currently available is 20 Mbps down with 5 Mbps up, rivaling cities such as Wausau (Marathon County) which has twenty times the population (40,000) of Three Lakes (2,000)

6 THE THREE LAKES MODEL STEP ONE: change and commit the mindset of the town, village, city or county board must change local taxpayer dollars must be committed to the effort STEP TWO: assess and decide take an inventory of what you have and make a list of what you want / create a coverage map choose what broadband options you want to pursue STEP THREE: collaborate and contact arrange meetings with your local service providers go to the technology you ll be waiting forever for it to come to you During my travels some local elected officials actually said, Why should we chase the technology? It can come to us. Well, good luck with that. You ll be waiting the rest of your life. Without the support of the local government a broadband implementation plan has no chance. As hard as it is to budget funds in these difficult times, that s precisely what must be done.

7 THE THREE LAKES MODEL STEP FOUR: implement and execute as service options come online, educate your residents on the choices enter into agreements with providers to build/create infrastructure STEP FIVE: evaluate and refine how are we doing, where are we strong, where do we need improvement find/fill the gaps in your local coverage area / upgrade service offerings The job never ends. It s a ongoing cycle of continuous evaluation and improvement. The collaborations you will form will constantly expose you to groups with great ideas you can use and assimilate.

8 Published by the UW-Extension Center for Community Technology Solutions, this white paper is based on what has become known as the Three Lakes Model, a roadmap of proactive steps communities can take to create a local broadband structure

9 The Building Community Broadband Subscribership Model Fully engaged Technology Capability Existing Infrastructure Technical Expertise Local and Regional Providers Technically Capable Interested Expanding Broadband Governmentally Engaged Just starting out Local Government Engagement Ability to change mindset Commitment to broadband development Willingness to earmark financial resources Dedication to collaborations on a broad front Building is about far more than merely providing access to the technology. Engaging people in the community throughout the process is critical to the long-term success of the effort.

10 TEN BROADBAND BEST PRACTICES FOR COMMUNITIES IN WISCONSIN Focus on broadband/hsi and cell phone Creative patchwork quilt of solutions Don t wait for infrastructure to come to you Providers as partners, not the enemy Proactively identify local opportunities/options Create your own coverage map Educate your local residents/business owners Communicate what you have to the world Strategic Doing: forming collaborations at the local, county, regional, super-regional and state levels to solve complex problems quickly Public/Private Partnerships (P 3 ) are essential IMBY: in my back yard!

11 HOW TO IMPLEMENT THESE BEST PRACTICES

12 WHEN IT COMES TO BROADBAND TWO THINGS ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT Expansion Adoption Local government, the business community, and individual citizens tend to focus only on more coverage and ever better speed but the providers need ever more customers using broadband. Both are equally valid and must be taken into consideration.

13 COLLABORATE WITH YOUR PROVIDERS Best Practices 3, 5 and 10 Don t wait for infrastructure to come to you Proactively identify local opportunities/options Public/Private Partnerships (P3) are essential Make it easy for providers to expand in your community. Eliminate or amend restrictive ordinances (think IMBY). Offer town or county owned land for tower and fiber expansion. Create dig once policies.

14 BLOW YOUR OWN HORN Best Practices 6, 7 and 8 Educate your local residents and business owners Communicate what you have to the world Create your own coverage map Folks won t adopt what they don t understand. If you build it they won t come, not unless they know it exists. Don t wait to create tools such as maps. Conduct technology fairs that bring customers to your local providers and educate them on options.

15 PARTICIPATE IN THE PSC S RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESS BROADBAND DEMAND SURVEYS The survey data will become part of Wisconsin s Broadband Playbook, used by policy-makers in Madison and the provider community alike to pinpoint unserved and underserved areas. Data from all rural areas, including Southwest Wisconsin, is especially vital.

16 PARTICIPATE IN THE PSC S RESIDENTIAL AND BUSINESS BROADBAND DEMAND SURVEYS The current data is flawed. If just one respondent in a census block reports having access to broadband, the entire block is designated as served. The telco lobby has historically used this as proof that an unrealistically high percentage of the state already has accessibility. The Link Wisconsin project is working to rectify this.

17 THE SHORT-TERM REALITY Sure - we all want fiber to the home, but.... the future holds both wireless and wired solutions. Fiber should be part of the long-term goal but your residents and businesses deserve access to decent broadband now. That means using the technologies you can get your hands on now. In the short term there will be no single universal broadband solution for rural towns, villages, cities and counties in Wisconsin. Don t see it as a disadvantage. Play to the strengths of your local options and cobble together a solution for now even as you continue to focus on the future. Best Practices 2 and 9 Creative patchwork quilt of technology solutions Strategic Doing collaborations at multiple levels to solve complex problems quickly

18 TURNING TECHNOLOGY INTO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

19 Creating the Wisconsin Broadband Superhighway Broadband is a critical and mandatory tool, but only a tool Broadband is merely a means to an end, not an end in itself Expansion and adoption of broadband are not ends Economic development, job creation, job growth, job retention.. now these are the ends Sooner than later, you have to start showing economic results for what you are doing with broadband to make life better

20 The good news: we re all finally on the same page We ve been making the identical case for the past four years in presentations all around the state. And now the Governor is doing the same.

21 Building Community Broadband Subscribership Wisconsin s Playbook for Broadband Progress Formally Published to Help Communities Statewide In his address to the PSC Broadband Summit in April of 2013 in Madison, Governor Walker cited specific plays from the book. He announced his biennial budget would include $4.3M in grants for the expansion and adoption of broadband, citing specifically how public-private partnerships or P3s should lead the way.

22 PSC has been charged with administering the grant funds

23 Region 2 Recap Forest, Lincoln, Langlade, Oneida and Vilas Active Projects Vilas collaboration with Lac du Flambeau Band to assess and evaluate needs / create Oneida county board adopted resolution Aug 2013 Joined by Town of Minocqua (Oneida County) Oneida County will be home to the best broadband opportunities of any rural county in Wisconsin as measured by speed, adoption rate of its citizens, and data capacity Nov 2013 provided funding in 2014 budget OC effort sponsored by Oneida County EDC Link Region 2 effort sponsored by Grow North REDC Oneida, Lincoln, Vilas and Langlade all will submit application for broadband grant funds Legislative Involvement Rep. Rob Swearingen (Assembly District 34) Rep. Mary Czaja (Assembly District 35) Rep. Jeff Mursau (Assembly District 36)

24 Apple Pie: the Oneida County Resolution WHEREAS, improved broadband access is essential to Oneida County citizens in the areas of job creation, medical care, education, communication, entertainment, and other future uses, and WHEREAS, significant portions of Oneida County are below average in speed, adoption, and capacity compared to the rest of Wisconsin, America, and our worldwide competitors, and WHEREAS, Oneida County is prohibited by state law from being a broadband provider but can be a catalyst for improvement, and WHEREAS, the cooperation among county, town, and city government with providers will be necessary for success, and, WHEREAS, public and private involvement in the development of a broadband improvement plan is essential, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Oneida County Board upon the advice of its Technology Committee, hereby endorses the conclusions of the committee and establishes as a goal that Oneida County will be home to the best broadband opportunities of any rural county in Wisconsin as measured by speed, adoption rate of its citizens, and data capacity. The Board further resolves that the best vehicle to carry on this work is the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation (OCEDC) which has agreed to accept this responsibility. The Board further resolves that the County Board s Administration Committee act as the conduit between the County Board and OCEDC for matters related to technology improvement in Oneida County. Aug 20 county board adopts resolution supporting county-wide broadband Nov 12 county board approves $24K in funding to support the project

25 Apple Pie 2: City of Rhinelander Resolution

26 Broadband and Vacation Properties Oneida County, Wisconsin An Economic Impact Study September 2013 University of Wisconsin Whitewater Russ Kashian, PhD Professor Department of Economics

27 Research Question FERC was tasked with determining how many more days part-time residents would stay at their vacation homes if they had broadband internet connectivity (not just availability) Purpose: determine the extra amount of money spent in the local economy as a consequence of second homeowners spending extra time in their residence if they had broadband internet

28 Average Expenditure (Part-Time Residents)

29 Results: Oneida County How much longer would you stay in your vacation home each year if you had access to broadband internet? Answer Options I would not stay any longer than I currently do up to 2 weeks 2-4 weeks 1-2 months 3-4 months 5-6 months 6-12 months Response Percent Response Count 50.9% % 10.9% 12.7% 7.3% 3.6% 5.5% Answered Question

30 Calculation Results Using a weighted average calculation from the previous table, the data shows that, on average, part-time residents would stay in their vacation homes 37 more days if they had broadband internet connectivity 52.5 % of respondents indicated that internet access issues and staying connected is a barrier that prevents them from staying longer in their second home

31 Relevant Numbers Part-time residents would stay an additional 37 days more per year if they had broadband internet connectivity Not considering/including construction spending part-time residents spend $23.81 per day in their vacationing homes

32 Economic Impact Multiplying $23.81 (average expenditure) x 37 (average number of extra days residents would spend in their vacation homes) yields a total of $ additional dollars per seasonal home spent each year in the local economy if owners had broadband internet connectivity

33 Oneida County Demographics FERC determined that in Oneida County there are currently 10,627 seasonal houses Of these 10,627 seasonal houses 52.5% did not have internet access or had issues staying connected

34 Direct Economic Impact Oneida County part-time residents would directly contribute $4,915,085 (10,627 x 52.5 % x ) per year to the local economy if they had better access to internet 10,627 (seasonal houses) 52.5% (percentage of households with internet access issues) $ (additional spending/year/seasonal home)

35 IMPLAN Results Impact Type Employment Labor Income Output Direct Effect 93 $1,505,249 $3,568,397 Indirect Effect 7 $274,766 $823,202 Induced Effect 12 $465,808 $1,437,261 Total Effect 112 $2,245,823 $5,828,860

36 Conclusions Broadband internet connectivity in vacation homes would generate additional spending in the local economy, bringing economic prosperity to the region The yearly impact on Oneida County would be $5,828,860

37 Major Benefits direct job creation indirect (secondary/tertiary) job creation better technology infrastructure in the County increased tourism due to better internet access some seasonal homeowners making a permanent move to the County (due to internet access and the jobs created by that access)

38 Ultimate Goal the ROI spreadsheet LAYOUT DRAFT ONLY (numbers/calculations for demo only) NOT FOR ACTUAL USE!

39 How do we make it happen? the burden can not be placed entirely on the state (the top down approach) local government (up to county level) cannot be asked nor have they the resources to do it entirely on the own (the bottom up approach) the private sector has significant resources but is also driven by a responsibility to its shareholders Solution? We must all work cooperatively both from the top down and bottom up and meet in the middle.. the P3 model

40 Insert your small rural town here If Three Lakes did it, so can you If Region 2 did it, so can you If north of Hwy 29 is doing it, so can you Just follow the steps in the various models Commit to your plan Take the operative path Confirm your baseline data Follow the best practices Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate * Be consistent, persistent and patient Never say never Don t let anyone tell you it can t be done * did I say collaborate?

41 ABOUT THE PRESENTER Don Sidlowski Civic/Government Strategist P.O. Box 99, Three Lakes, WI is Founder of the Northwoods Broadband Development Coalition, a super-regional entity committed to the transformation of Wisconsin north of Highway 29 into a nationally-recognized high speed internet economic zone, attracting businesses and resident workers from around the country. He also serves as the Executive Director for Grow North Regional Economic Development Corporation. Don is past Chairman in the Town of Three Lakes in Oneida County where he also served as chairman of the Economic Development Committee and as a Commissioner on the Three Lakes Plan Commission. He formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation, is a current board member for the Wisconsin Rural Partners, is the Management Team Leader for the Public Service Commission s LinkWISCONSIN Region 2, and serves as a broadband development adviser to a wide range of public and private organizations at the local, county, regional, super-regional and state levels including the UW-Extension Center for Community Technology Solutions and the Oneida County Board of Supervisors Technology Committee. Don is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Oneida Marketing Enterprises, a virtual company providing integrated internet marketing systems.

42 CASE STUDY BROADBAND AS AN ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Resources www. broadband.uwex.edu wisconsindashboard.org/node/238 wisconsindashboard.org/node/405 psc.wi.gov/utilityinfo/tele/broadband/grants/ bbgrantjan2014.htm NORTHWOODS BROADBAND DEVELOPMENT COALITION