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telecommunications
capacity throughout the state. It is an article of faith
that Virginia's small businesses and citizenry require
high-speed Internet connectivity to participate fully in
an increasingly information-intensive economy.
Now
comes disturbing news from study conducted by AeA, a
Washington, D.C./Santa Clara, Calif.-based trade
association: "Broadband in the States 2003."
As of June 2002, Virginia was falling behind other
states in signing up new broadband subscribers. (See
summary here.)
For
all of Virginia's pretensions to be a tech-savvy
commonwealth, according to Federal Communications
Commission data, the Old Dominion logged 361,000
broadband subscribers in June 2002. That ranked us 14th
nationally -- not terribly impressive considering that
we have the 12th largest population. Virginia ranked a
run-of-the-mill 25th in broadband subscriptions per
household
The
good news is that the number of broadband subscribers in
Virginia had jumped 23 percent in only six months, up
from 293,000 in December 2001. The bad news is that
broadband was being deployed even more rapidly elsewhere
-- increasing 27 percent nationally over the same
period.
The
AeA defines "broadband" as a connection to the
home or business that is faster than 200 kilobits per
second in at least one direction. The dominant
technology for receiving broadband services in Virginia
was cable with 238,300 subscribers in June 2002. DSL
accounted for 75,500 broadband subscribers.
"Broadband
subscriptions in Virginia have jumped substantially over
the last two years," noted Greg Poersch, Executive
Director of AeA's Potomac Council. "Nonetheless,
Virginia must continue to promote broadband use to help
enhance the state's competitiveness and
productivity."
So,
what is the Warner administration doing? On March 3 in
Abingdon, Gov. Mark
R. Warner highlighted the following strategies for the
state to bring telecommunications to Virginia's
Appalachian communities (quoting from the press
release):
- Serve as a
facilitator between communities and the private
sector to help aggregate demand for broadband
access. Doing so will support economically feasible
projects for telecommunications companies and ensure
affordable broadband rates for individuals and
businesses.
- Provide technical
assistance in communities to further aggregate
demand for broadband and educate businesses about
the application and marketing opportunities of
high-speed Internet access.
- Provide grants and
funds to finance the gaps and complete "Last
Mile" installation of fiber optics in the most
remote rural communities.
- Support legislation
that calls for statewide broadband deployment.
That
was the last official pronouncement on the subject. Has
there been any follow up since then? Has the state done
anything to help aggregate demand? Has it identified any
pots of money -- even federal money -- to help
localities complete "last mile" installation?
None
that the administration has acknowledged on its
websites.
The
AeA report raises a fundamental issue. Focusing on
Appalachia is fine, but how about the rest of the state?
The information released by the AeA did not provide
details on regional broadband deployment, but the
statewide numbers would seem to suggest that lagging
broadband deployment is a statewide phenomenon,
not one limited to Appalachia. Are the strategies
enunciated for Virginia's rural areas even relevant to
its cities and suburbs? I don't know. Does the Warner
administration?
Another
question: Who's in charge? Both George Newstrom,
secretary of technology, and Michael J. Schewel,
secretary of commerce and trade, include
"broadband" in their portfolios. But which one
is accountable for results? It wouldn't be fair to hold
either gentleman accountable for Virginia's slow
progress if neither has been given primary
responsibility.
Ultimate
responsibility rests with the guy in the governor's
mansion: the man, ironically, who made his fortune as a
venture capitalist financing the telecommunications
industry, the man who made broadband deployment a major
campaign theme. Let's hope that Gov. Warner has
something up his sleeve. It would be embarrassing if
next year's AeA report showed Virginia falling even
farther behind.
-- June 9, 2003
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