SNG Releases “50 States of Broadband” Report Uncovering State-by-State Broadband Activities and Investment
In conjunction with the Rural Telecommunications Congress (RTC), Strategic Networks Group (SNG) released its extensive report on broadband investment and activity. The report combines Federal Communications Commission availability and adoption figures with SNG’s survey results of 48 states to rank states on the following dimensions: Availability, Adoption, Driving Meaningful Use, Growth Investment, and Regulation. “We put a great deal of time into determining the dimensions and how to measure each,” explains Doug Adams, SNG’s VP Communications. “There’s so much more to maximizing the benefits of broadband than merely providing fiber/higher speeds.” Ranking each state with a weight for each category yielded the following as the top 5 states in terms of broadband; New Mexico, Maine, Ohio, New York, and Vermont. Some highlights of the findings include:
52% of states have an office dedicated to broadband
Only a little more than a quarter (28%) definitely have a budget to fund broadband initiatives
Activities most often funded by states are “planning and support” (82% of funded states) and infrastructure (45%)
“One overall finding that was interesting is that investment activities seem to be heavily weighted towards the “supply” of broadband and include mapping, infrastructure planning, and grants, surpassing economic development activities that impact econ0omic advancement including raising awareness, training, and driving end-user utilization,” explains Michael Curri, SNG’s president and founder.
SNG Releases “50 States of Broadband” Report Uncovering State-by-State Broadband Activities and Investment The Fifty States of Broadband (Read the report)