Broadband and Technology Trends Across Oklahoma

1. Broadband and Technology Trends Across Oklahoma Ag Econ Current Issues Webinar January 12, 2017 Brian Whitacre Professor and Extension Economist

2. Agenda • Broadband Overview • National & State Trends (& where to find data) • Access / Adoption by OK County • Smartphone Trends • Recent Broadband Research • Broadband and Agriculture • Broadband and the Rural Economy • Civic Engagement • “Un-adopters” • OSU Extension Products & Programs

3. Agenda • Broadband Overview • National & State Trends (& where to find data) • Access / Adoption by OK County • Smartphone Trends • Recent Broadband Research • Broadband and Agriculture • Broadband and the Rural Economy • Civic Engagement • “Un-adopters” • OSU Extension Products & Programs

4. Broadband Overview • What is “Broadband” anyway? • Defined by speed of Internet connection • Historically, anything over 200 kbps • “Dial-up” access connects at 56 kbps • Official threshold is defined by the FCC and has changed over the years • CURRENTLY: 25 MBPS down, 3 MPBS up (2015) • 4 MBPS down, 1 MBPS up (2010) • 786 KBPS down (2008) • 200 KBPS at least 1 direction (prior to 2008)

5. Broadband Vs. Dial-up • Dial-up was dominant in the early 2000s! • Largely disappeared as broadband became more available • There are still 3-5% of households who have a dial-up connection

6. Why Is Broadband Important? • Think about all the things you do online! • Finding information • Flights / hotels • Banking • Social connections • Buying / selling • Healthcare information • Those that are not connected have fewer tools to help them in everyday life • “Digital Divides” • High / Low income • Rural / Urban • Young / Elderly

7. How Important IS Broadband? • We asked 1,500 people across the nation to rank the following items in terms of their importance: • Home Internet connection • Smartphone • Cable / Satellite TV in your home • Air conditioning in your home • Personal car How would YOU rank these?

8. How Important IS Broadband? • Results: % of people surveyed who ranked having a home Internet connection OVER • Smartphone • Cable / Satellite TV in your home • Air conditioning in your home • Personal car 47% 68% 45% 33% 12% Ranked Home Internet Connection #1!

9. The Rural / Urban Digital Divide Persistent 10-15 point gap over time

10. Agenda • Broadband Overview • National & State Trends (& where to find data) • Access / Adoption by OK County • Smartphone Trends • Recent Broadband Research • Broadband and Agriculture • Broadband and the Rural Economy • Civic Engagement • “Un-adopters” • OSU Extension Products & Programs

11. What Technologies Are Used? • For FIXED Connections: • Cable • DSL • Fiber (FTTP)

12. BUT…The Growth of Mobile!

13. Put Another Way…

14. Mobile Dominating… • Some households have BOTH Mobile and Fixed • But, many depend ONLY on Mobile!

15. “Smartphone-Dependent”

16. Data Sources for Broadband • Broadband Availability • National Broadband Map (www.broadbandmap.gov) - Data as of June 2014 Type in an address and see what type of broadband is available

17. National Broadband Map • Explore options for wired / wireless Internet in your Community • Results broken out by speeds offered (> & < 3 MBPS)

18. National Broadband Map • Or, select “Explore the Maps” to zoom in on an area around you Select Technology Type DSL Cable

19. National Broadband Map • Also includes Mobile Wireless (i.e. Cellular) Coverage… • Is this realistic? You tell me…

20. How Does Oklahoma Stack Up? Household Subscribership Ratio (# of Fixed Connections / # of Households) Source: Internet Access Services, Status as of Dec. 31, 2015 (FCC, 2016)

21. How Does Oklahoma Stack Up? Mobile Wireless Subscribership Ratio (# of Mobile Connections / # of People) Source: Internet Access Services, Status as of Dec. 31, 2015 (FCC, 2016)

22. Wired vs. Wireless Big drop-off is b/c wireless can’t reach these speeds (yet)

23. Oklahoma BB Adoption Data • Census Tract Estimates provided by FCC • % of Households with at least 200kbps connection 2015 2008

24. Oklahoma BB Adoption Data • But, few households have faster speeds 2015 – 10 MB Download 2015

25. Oklahoma Smartphone Estimates

26. Agenda • Broadband Overview • National & State Trends (& where to find data) • Access / Adoption by OK County • Smartphone Trends • Recent Broadband Research • Broadband and Agriculture • Broadband and the Rural Economy • Civic Engagement • “Un-adopters” • OSU Extension Products & Programs

27. Broadband and Ag • Precision Ag becoming more common • “How Connected Are Our Farms?” Source: Whitacre et al., 2014

28. Broadband and the Rural Economy • Rural counties with high levels of broadband adoption show larger growth in income and lower growth in unemployment. Not true for access. Source: Whitacre et al., 2014

29. Broadband and the Rural Economy • Alternatively, rural counties with low adoption fared worse in number of firms and total employment. Source: Whitacre et al., 2014

30. Broadband and Civic Engagement • Rural Broadband is (mostly) positively related to most measures of civic engagement Source: Whitacre and Manlove, 2016

31. Broadband and Civic Engagement • But there are some exceptions! Source: Whitacre and Manlove, 2016

32. Broadband and Civic Engagement Source: Whitacre and Manlove, 2016

33. Broadband “Un-adopters” • Some households have a broadband connection but choose to discontinue it (~4%) • Mostly due to cost • Subsidies can help • Retirees select “no need” Source: Whitacre and Rhinesmith, 2015

34. Agenda • Broadband Overview • National & State Trends (& where to find data) • Access / Adoption by OK County • Smartphone Trends • Recent Broadband Research • Broadband and Agriculture • Civic Engagement • “Un-adopters” • OSU Extension Products & Programs

35. OSU E-commerce Program • Extension program focused on small businesses trying to build their web presence • Partner with Rural Enterprises, Inc (REI) • Often team up with local chambers / banks / technology centers • Started in 2007, has progressed yearly… • Won AAEA Extension award in 2013

36. OSU E-commerce Program

37. Options for Low-Income Households • New OSU Fact Sheet • Options include: • $5/$10 / month programs from AT&T and Cox • $9.25 / month discount from federal government • Free library hotspot programs

38. Options for Low-Income Households

39. Library Hotspot Programs • “Check out the Internet!” • Wireless hotspot devices that libraries loan out to constituents for 1-2 weeks (FREE) • Tulsa, OK has program • Pilot rural libraries in KS and TX • Ongoing grant to find out “what works” If the library in your community is interested, let me know!

40. NEW Program Under Development • “Broadband Basics” • Demonstrations of how various types of broadband technology is set up / used • iPads, laptops, phones • Digital literacy training • Examples from local health care providers / businesses about what can be done online • Costs / subsidies available for residential broadband adoption • Input from county educators about what can be done locally

41. “Smartphone-Dependent”

42. Seeking Partners… • If you are interested in this program, get in touch with me! • Currently seeking out partners: • Libraries • Technology companies • Senior centers • Civic organizations • Working on funding for iPads / laptops / phones

43. Increasing BB Adoption is NOT Easy! • PEW’s “Digital Readiness” Index suggests 52% of all Americans are relatively hesitant

44. Digital Inclusion Programs • Typically housed in libraries or public computing centers • Multiple courses on how to use websites, email, MS office, Internet basics • Many online resources available

45. Summary • Broadband is increasingly important in today’s society • Mobile access is becoming dominant – most people use it to search, and some are ONLY using mobile • Several low-cost options exist for low-income households • OSU Extension program under development promoting “digital inclusion”