In a recent opinion piece on the ever-provocative Huffington Post, writer Timothy Karr declared “America's Internet—Now as Good as Angola's!” Hyperbole? Of course. But according to the U.S. Department of Commerce's “Exploring the Digital Divide” report, released last month, some states are just not living up to their connectivity potential. Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Mexico have the dubious distinction of being the five worst states for broadband adoption—with percentages of 55%, 52%, 58%, 51%, and 58%, respectively. Overall, the average broadband penetration rate for the entire U.S. is about 65%. But in the bluegrass state, the public-private partnership ConnectKentucky has been working since 2002 to address the state's need for broadband—taking a county-level holistic approach to promote “a statewide technology acceleration program.” The vision for ConnectKentucky started out in response to the Kentucky Innovation Act of 2000; it has since become a national model for broadband deployment and the basis for the Broadband Data Improvement Act, which was funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

According to ConnectKentucky's Executive Director René True, the Commerce Department report is an accurate portrayal of what is occurring in Kentucky. The lower rates are mostly due to the state’s rural nature and relatively low per capita income. As a result, True believes that ConnectKentucky needs to work on “a project-by-project basis,” in order to tap into the potential of wireless broadband and design networks that fit individual community and county needs.

It would be an understatement to say that ConnectKentucky has its hands in nearly every rural town and county in the state; in fact, in many of those areas, ConnectKentucky has led wireless broadband initiatives by mapping broadband gaps, assisting with wireless network design, drafting requests for proposals, and overseeing broadband network build-outs. True explained that ConnectKentucky is an organization that targets unserved and underserved areas, then works to bring broadband to those communities.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, ConnectKentucky is able to suit broadband services to the needs of individual areas. In some cases, that means going with AT&T (NYSE:T) or Windstream (NasdaqGS:WIN) for network build out, but often the group works with providers who are already in place in those areas, such as Altius Communications, Q-Wireless, KY Wi-Max, and Foundation Communications. According to True, “Connect Kentucky has been involved with some of the smallest broadband communications players serving rural Kentucky.” In fact, he said, “from a pure deployment of services to rural unserved areas, ConnectKentucky is much more likely to be talking with small local companies rather than bigger multi-state companies.”

One such initiative includes “Coal to Broadband”—an innovative project that is funded by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and matching multi-county coal severance funds. ConnectKentucky oversees the initiative by providing technical assistance and project management, from conducting research and public awareness campaigns to assisting with network design proposals. This September the group announced it had selected wireless broadband provider Altius Communications for Coal to Broadband's ConnectBELP network build out; the fixed wireless microwave network will connect Breathitt, Estill, Lee, and Powell counties in eastern Kentucky. “The sparse population and rugged topography of the four counties make it difficult for residents to receive broadband services were it not for a public/private partnership,” True said. He also noted that “original funding amounts from ARC and Kentucky Department for Local Development coal severance grants totaled $630,600.”

In other counties of the state, ConnectKentucky has worked to secure broadband for a seven-county region of the state in the ConnectGRADD project. At the outset Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union, and Webster counties had next to no broadband access, particularly in the most rural areas. The rolling hills and sparse population made the regions unappealing to larger providers and traditional wired broadband, but it was a perfect proving-ground for wireless broadband. The seven constituent county governments asked ConnectKentucky to assist them in finding vendors who would build a network reaching nearly 100% of households and businesses. The completed network coverage included nearly 100% of existing industrial parks, more than 93% of residences, and offers free wireless hotspots for public use. According to True, “The ConnectGRADD project is serving over 1,800 customers, starting from a zero base.”

Danville-based KY Wi-Max was the local broadband provider of choice for ConnectKentucky's project in Washington County, and True recently said that Glasgow-based South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative plans to team with Windstream to build broadband networks affecting small portions of Warren County.

In addition to a county-by-county approach, ConnectKentucky also assists in bringing broadband to individual towns. Such was the case in Prestonburg and Williamstown, where local cable providers didn't reach outside town limits and residents were left without broadband services. With a fixed wireless broadband system now in place, not only do rural residents surrounding Williamstown enjoy broadband connectivity, but Grant County now has a 94% broadband footprint, up from 58%.

Each of these wireless broadband initiatives echo the competitive growth rates our own Richelle Elberg predicted back in November. She wrote that, in the next few years, “we think the wireless substitution factor and higher overall penetration [will] force wired broadband connections into a slow decline. Admittedly wireless isn’t a perfect solution for all broadband applications, but on the other hand, it’s likely to get better and it’s mobile.” For certain rural areas, of course, wireless broadband is the most cost-effective and the most practical in terms of infrastructure build out—and one can't help but note how partnerships between local providers, national providers, city governments and other municipalities are becoming the norm in areas like rural Kentucky.

But does build out always equal adoption? It seems every broadband penetration study notes that those who aren't connected don't necessarily want to be, nor do they feel that broadband is useful to them. In these cases, True said changing the adoption rate is going to require showing the relevancy of broadband, providing it affordably and increasing technology literacy. “It’s going to require real grass-roots, community-level efforts,” he said.

For ConnectKentucky, such grass-roots efforts are manifest through public relations campaigns and community involvement projects. True noted ConnectKentucky's Computers 4 Kids program, which “brings together public and private partners to help disadvantaged children and their families join the Information Age.” He said that the program has “successfully placed over 3300 computers and other technology with disadvantaged kids and families, not-for-profit after school programs, community centers, libraries, and schools.” These computers and the (hopefully) accompanying broadband availability is crucial to areas of Appalachia, True said. “Without broadband availability, rural communities will fall further behind economically, educationally, and from a total quality of life view.”

As an example of a community-specific technology development program, True also mentioned the work accomplished through ConnectKentucky's Connect Equestrian View initiative. Focused on the Equestrian View neighborhood—a low-income area of eastern Kentucky—this project not only brings hardware like computers and printers to disadvantaged families, but also “subsidizes up to six months of broadband access, technology training and other technology resources to increase access, adoption, and use of technology by residents,” according to True. The project is a partnership with the Kentucky Housing Authority, Lexington Housing Authority, and Lexmark.

While ConnectKentucky's community involvement doesn't necessarily provide a monetary return-on-investment or follow a typical business strategy, it does work on closing the broadband gap in its own way—by addressing unserved and underserved areas and, at least for a time, providing opportunities for residents to see broadband's potential. For True, this is central to ConnectKentucky's overall mission to foster broadband growth in the state through an abundance of partnerships, all with varying but complementary goals. True calls broadband “the killer app” for rural areas and hopefully, for ConnectKentucky and all its partners, their efforts will be enough to one day deem Kentucky “broadband's most improved.

Public/Private Partnerships Spur Ultra-High-Speed Internet

When Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) announced in early 2010 that it would build a 1GB fiber network in one lucky city, the company received more than 1,100 applications. Eager citizens and local organizations made the case (sometimes in outlandish ways) for why their cities needed ultra-high-speed networks for their businesses, schools, hospitals, local government, and homes. Elise Kohn, program director for University Community Next Generation Innovation Project (a.k.a., Gig.U), says the Google experiment demonstrated an unprecedented desire for ultra-high-speed networks across the country, making a strong case for why ultra-high-speed networks were essential to U.S. growth. But, as a national investment, who would be willing to pay for such extensive infrastructure? And what sectors would make immediate use of such robust connectivity? According to Kohn and Blair Levin, who is heading up the Gig.U project, research universities and their surrounding communities will be the foundation of the 1GB revolution. These communities conduct top-notch research, scientific innovation, medical advances, and so on, which makes them a vital test-bed for ultra-high-speed capabilities. In short, research universities both “consume and create,” in Kohn's words, and will allow us to see what's capable in the future with 1GB.

“We're not saying everyone in America needs a gig—that's why this is a targeted investment where there's highest demand and highest yield,” Kohn says. At research universities, innovation and development would benefit from faster broadband speeds and even allow new advances in science, engineering, and medicine—key fields to U.S. global competitiveness. “If you look internationally or at what's happening at research universities,” according to Kohn, “there are important reasons that, if you want to be ahead, [1GB] is where it's going.” Not only would an ultra-high-speed network allow for smooth videoconferencing and webcasting, but the improved capabilities and data transfer rates would encourage the development of new applications, research opportunities, and learning tools. As just one example, Kohn sites current innovations in medical technology that, with advanced network capabilities, allow surgeons to practice on life-like 3D projections when training for open-heart surgery.

Kohn also highlights technologies already implemented at Case Western Reserve, a school that she calls “a great champion of Gig.U's plan.” Case Western is one of Gig.U's 30 members and last year set up a pilot program connecting a several block area surrounding campus. The Case Connection Zone now provides 1GB fiber-optic networking to more than 100 homes and has been a test bed for what Gig.U plans to do across the nation. “A number of our members [universities] are very well connected on campus,” Kohn says, “so that's not necessarily where we need to fill a need. But staff, faculty, and researchers go home at night, students live off-campus... and the research and development—the advanced work that they're doing—continues there.”

These dynamic research communities can also attract new businesses to a town or city, according to Lev Gonick, chief information officer at Case Western. Gonick said that within three months of implementing Case Connection Zone, three startups moved to the neighborhood. “Gig.U members came together to address our unique connectivity gap. We intimately understand that for American research institutions to continue to provide leadership in areas important to U.S. competitiveness, we have to act to improve the market opportunity for upgrading the networks in our university communities. We believe a small amount of investment can yield big returns for the American economy and our society,” says Gonick.

And Gig.U agrees with Gonick's more national focus. Its entire leadership team has direct experience with America's broadband needs (and lack) from working in various capacities at the FCC. Levin served as director of the FCC's National Broadband Plan, where he asserted that broadband was essential to American growth and competitiveness and that ultra-high-speed would be key to cutting edge research and development. Kohn says the National Broadband Plan also revealed that ultra-high-speed was not something the federal government would be able to invest in, at least in the short term. So early this year, Levin contacted CIOs at several universities to get the conversation going, and at the end of July Gig.U's project was announced publicly.

Gig.U's member universities come from nearly every region of the country—from the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico to the mountains of Colorado, and from the heartland states of Nebraska and Illinois, to coastal communities in Maine, Florida, and Hawaii. Most importantly, the research universities of Gig.U represent midsized communities which could potentially benefit from advanced connectivity, according to Kohn. “The universities in Gig.U have strong relationships with the communities around them,” Kohn says, “so we're allowing the universities to do the outreach to communities and surrounding areas [to explain the Gig.U initiative].”

Karl Kowalski, chief information technology officer for the University of Alaska System, says he thinks Gig.U's public/private partnership will bring value for the community surrounding University of Alaska. “While much has been done to connect the University of Alaska Fairbanks to major research networks,” he says, “our communities, our partners and our state could advance this research through innovative testbeds and community involvement if ultra-high speed networks were available to all.”

At West Virginia University, another of Gig.U's member companies, Chief Information Officer Rehan Khan says that the group is looking for proposals in order "to deploy networks not in decades but rather within the next several years." The school, along with Gig.U's other members, hopes that new networks will spur local economies and job opportunities in their regions. Jay Cole, WVU chief of staff who initiated the University’s involvement in Gig.U said, "It is the general population we are seeking to serve and encourage to use University innovation to create new jobs and improve the economy."

On Aug. 18, Gig.U issued a Request for Information in the form of an open letter, saying the group will “consider ways in which multiple Project communities can work together... to improve the private sector business case for next-generation networks.” Kohn says the group has sought input from a variety of communications providers—from national providers like AT&T (NYSE:T), Comcast (Nasdaq:CMCSA), Frontier (NYSE:FTR), Windstream (Nasdaq:WIN), and Verizon (NYSE:VZ), to regional providers like Blackfoot Telecommunications Group in Montana and Smithville Communications in Indiana. “We are doing direct outreach to them,” Kohn says, “and they are also coming to member companies and expressing interest. We've also talked with Google, Lucent (NYSE:ALU), Cisco (Nasdaq:CSCO), and anyone involved in the ecosystem. If providers in the vicinity of one of our members have an idea for how to meet the needs of that community, together, they should definitely respond. It's a learning exercise.” The Request for Information period will end in November.

It's still hard to tell what Gig.U will look like when implemented, but Kohn says much of that will depend on the specific needs and the network configuration of each member university and its community. The group is not seeking federal funding, however, and new network build outs would be funded by Gig.U members as well as private-sector companies and non-profits who join the project.

When asked about the precariousness of a “build-it-and-they-will-come” approach, Kohn said that scenario isn't really a concern in Gig.U's case. “Research universities and the communities around them already have a history of development, and this really creates a cycle of opportunity.” Kohn says this is not unlike the progression to high-speed from dial-up, in the way that high-speed has become a new standard, while creating new applications and advancements. “The risk/return profile for a private company to help build out these networks is better because of the universities,” according to Kohn. “They're more tech-savvy communities. Give them access now and they'll understand what they can do, and with those advances, more and more will start to need it."