Measuring Broadband Use and Adoption is the Next Frontier in Internet Data Collection

[Commentary] It’s very easy to take broadband for granted. People want to go online to look up answers on Wikipedia, to watch movies on Netflix, to hang out on Facebook, or to Skype cousins across the globe — or across town. None of this can be done without broadband. Higher and higher speeds of Internet connectivity are necessary to satisfy everyone’s demand to do all of these things at once. That’s where the Partnership for a Connected Illinois comes into play.

We are a resource and a key piece in the puzzle about how the broadband landscape in Illinois is changing for the better. We work with broadband providers of all stripes – fiber, cable, copper and wireless – to help raise awareness of the fact that Better Broadband leads to Better Lives. We work with State entities like Gov. Pat Quinn’s Broadband Deployment Council, and with local governments and “anchor institutions” that are crucial hubs in connecting up to Internet spokes. And we work with consumers. These include everyday residents of rural Illinois, of Chicago, and of everything in between. Equally important are the business customers. Powered by broadband in Illinois, these business customers need better broadband to stoke job creation and economic growth.

[Clark is Executive Director of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois]