Connecting Anchor Institutions -- Linchpin to National Broadband Plan?

[Commentary] Does wiring 98,400, or 80% of all U.S. anchor institutions, that lack broadband Internet access make good business sense? Yes. It should be the core for our National Broadband Plan, as well as a central strategic objective for those applying for stimulus grants. In one fell swoop you resolve three critical issues: financially sustaining the network, fostering economic development and generating widespread broadband adoption. If your ultimate objective is to create a communitywide broadband network, then these institutions have to become anchor tenants that actually pay for network services. In many underserved rural and urban areas, low population density and/or low income make it difficult to get enough individual subscribers to pay for a network's operating expenses even when the network is built mainly on grant money. If you look at successful networks already in place, anchor tenants collectively produce most of the revenue because each one spends more per month for services (maybe $1,000, $2,000/month or more) to replace older slower communication technologies, and capitalize on new computing technologies.