The Role of the State in Broadband Policy for Rural Areas: A Comparative Analysis of Canada and the United States

1. The Role of the State in Broadband Policy for Rural Areas: A Comparative Analysis of Canada and the United States Rural Telecon – October 23, 2006 Penn State Rural Telecommunications Working Group Sheila S. Sager, Theodore R. Alter & William C. Shuffstall Presented by Sheila S. Sager

2. Objectives • Role of the State in broadband provision for the rural United States • Comparative analysis of government policy in the rural US and Canada • Open access • Human and organizational capacity • Demand aggregation • Implications and conclusions

4. Broadband Penetration & Population Densities

5. United States Universal Service Funds, 1996 Rural Health Care Support Mechanism Schools and Libraries Program E-rate Rural Broadband Access Loans, 2002 Canada Connecting Canadians, 1998 National Broadband Taskforce, 2001 Broadband for Rural and Northern Development (BRAND), 2002 Rural and Remote Broadband Access Program (RRBA), 2002 National Satellite Initiative (NSI), 2003 Federal Broadband Policies & Programs

6. United States Abolished open access in August 2005 Canada Supports and encourages open access Open Access

7. United States Canada National Broadband Taskforce identifies ways to build capacity National Satellite Initiative Human and Organizational Capacity

8. United States Decided at the local level No federal support Not eligible for e-rate Canada Aggregation is one of the two key strategies identified by the National Broadband Taskforce Demand Aggregation

9. Comparative Analysis

10. Implications & Conclusions • Assumption – Access and use of broadband is a necessary condition for economic and social development. • The lack of accessibility and capacity in rural areas will hinder their development. • Compared to Canada, US broadband policy is not designed to enhance accessibility and capacity for those people living in rural areas.

11. Implications & Conclusions • Assumption – Economic and social well being and quality of life in rural places is important • Relative to Canadian policy, US policy does not appear to serve this social value and goal • Assumption – Development, enfranchisement and quality of life of rural people and places is a strongly held value • US policy needs to be radically reformed to incorporate a larger role of the State where the market does not provide adequate access

12. Implications & Conclusions Rewrite of the United States Telecommunications Act of 1996 • Carrier class services need to be the focus of policy, in addition to residential services • Provides an opportunity to recast policy that is more supportive of rural populations and places

13. Rural Telecommunications Working Group (RTWG) • A multidisciplinary team of researchers, educators and practitioners, at Penn State, are focusing on the adoption and impact of digital technologies on the economic, political and social development of rural communities

14. Ted Alter Jeff Bridger Sheila Sager Kai Schafft Jorge Schement Bill Shuffstall Marsha Tate RTWG Members

15. Comments, Questions, Suggestions

16. The Role of the State in Broadband Policy for Rural Areas: A Comparative Analysis of Canada and the United States Presented by Sheila S. Sager sss2@psu.edu 814-863-6816