A Broadband Primer

What is BroadbandWhy It Matters

July 2008Paul Treadwell

Cornell Cooperative Extension

What is Broadband?

• High speed data transmission

• Always on connection

• Encompasses a variety of technologies:– DSL– Cable modem– WiFi– Broadband sattelite– Broadband over Power Lines (BPL)

Why does it matter?

• High speed internet access can:– Improve government efficiency and

communication– Provide access to educational opportunities– Engage citizens– Facilitate better medical care– Narrow the digital divide– Expand employment opportunities

Broadband – A miracle cure?

• Sadly, no.• Many factors affect

the impact :– Perceived usefulness– Quality of Service– Digital illiteracy– Cost

• The connection• Hardware

More than just wire or fiber

• The full benefits of broadband access require a strategy which is:– Educational– Affordable– Useful

Broadband elements

Education

Infrastructure

Equity

ContentInclusion

QoS

Community Broadband

• Community (or municipal) broadband projects :– Municipalities take an active role in bridging

the digital divide by:• Providing access to high speed internet

connections• Service may be provided fully or partially by local

government• Community broadband attempts to engage all

elements of broadband service.

State support for broadband

• NYS Office for Technology– State grants for universal broadband

• NYS Council for Universal Broadband– Advisory group for broadband deployment

and digital literacy in underserved and unserved rural communities.

Extension and Broadband

• Educational resources addressing broadband:– E-commerce– E-government– E- not for profits– Broadband planning

Technology and civitas

• The fuss about broadband, then, extends beyond access to information to active participation in the online commons

– Broadband: What’s All the Fuss About? Pew Internet and American Life Project

• Community broadband can foster civic participation by providing both the means and the methods for citizen engagement.

Links to resources

• NYS Office for Technology – Connecting NY to the World.– http://www.oft.state.ny.us/oft/UniversalBroadband/overview.htm

• NYS Council for Universal Broadband– http://www.isoc-ny.org/wiki/New_York_State_Council_for_Universal_Broadband

• Pew Internet and American Life Project– http://www.pewinternet.org/index.asp

• Access E.info– Minnesota Cooperative Extension information technology programs including:

• Access e-commerce

• Access e-government

– http://www.accesse.info/

Contact Information

• Paul Treadwell– Distance Learning Consultant

– Cornell Cooperative Extension

– 356 Roberts Hall

– Cornell University

– Ithaca, NY 14853

– pt36@cornell.edu

– http://treadwell.cce.cornell.edu/elearn