A Broadband Primer

1
A Broadband Primer

• What is Broadband
• Why It Matters
• July 2008
• Paul Treadwell
• Cornell Cooperative Extension

2
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)

3
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

4
Broadband A miracle cure?

• Sadly, no.
• Many factors affect the impact
• Perceived usefulness
• Quality of Service
• Digital illiteracy
• Cost
• The connection
• Hardware

5
More than just wire or fiber

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

6
Broadband elements
Infrastructure
Education
Equity
QoS
Content
Inclusion
7
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.

8
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.

9
Extension and Broadband

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

10
Technology and civitas

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

11
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/

12
Contact Information

• Paul Treadwell
• Distance Learning Consultant
• Cornell Cooperative Extension
• 356 Roberts Hall
• Cornell University
• Ithaca, NY 14853
• pt36_at_cornell.edu
• http//treadwell.cce.cornell.edu/elearn