Broadband communications access is rapidly gaining traction as a “4th Utility” in countries around the world. Recently, at Digital Africa 2010 in Kampala, several ministry-level delegates referenced their national initiatives building the “4th Utility” as among their highest priorities. On March 16th, FCC Chairman Genachowski stated “…broadband is essential for opportunity in America – for all Americans, from all communities and backgrounds, living in rural towns, inner cities, or in between.”
This means that broadband communications should be considered a basic right for all Americans, and persons from all countries, at the same level of other utilities including:
- Heating
- Water
- Electricity
None of the above utilities are free, all require major infrastructure development, and all are basic requirements for survival in the 21st century.
Genachoski went on to set some ambitious goals for the United States, as included in the “National Broadband Plan,” that include:
- 1 gigabit to every community
- affordable 100 megabits to 100 million households
- raising adoption (of broadband access) from 65% to 90% adoption, heading to 100%
Not a Bad Start
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn stated in a March 10th release that 93 million Americans still do not access broadband communications at home. 36% of those indicating they are not using broadband cite the high cost of access as their major reason for not gaining access, or terms of broadband access are unattractive.
While it would be easy for us to say Internet and broadband providers should be regulated on pricing and terms of service, we should also, if we want to consider broadband a 4th utility, compare the terms of access with other utilities provided to citizens of the United States. The cost of broadband will no doubt change based on:
- Location – rural vs. urban
- Number of providers in a community or market – including wireless
- Distance from Internet interconnection and exchange points
- Subscriber density in a specific geography (sparsely populated areas will have a higher cost of service)
The National Broadband Plan adds additional goals and action items that further reinforce the idea of broadband as a 4th utility, including:
- Goal No. 1: At least 100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second
- Goal No. 2: The United States should lead the world in mobile innovation, with the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation
- Goal No. 3: Every American should have affordable access to robust broadband service, and the means and skills to subscribe if they so choose
- Goal No. 4: Every community should have affordable access to at least 1 gigabit per second broadband service to anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals, and government buildings
- Goal No. 5: To ensure the safety of American communities, every first responder should have access to a nationwide, wireless, interoperable broadband public safety network
- Goal No. 6: To ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy, every American should be able to use broadband to track and manage their real-time energy consumption.
This is a pretty comprehensive framework, adding additional forward thinking such as using broadband to support the “intelligent grid,” and wireless communications. And there is still a lot of work to accomplish. The broadband.gov website now includes several utilities used to both give consumers an idea of their current broadband performance, as well as show a very good map on the best places in the United States for accessing Internet services, and the worst.
The best states, which give an average data download speed of greater than 10Mbps, include:
- Massachusetts
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- Maryland
- Virginia
And the worst averaging less than 2Mbps downloads including:
- Alaska
- Idaho
- Montana
- Wyoming
- New Mexico
Even the best locations in the United States are a fraction of the average Internet and broadband access speeds enjoyed in countries like South Korea, with average home access throughout the country nearing 50Mbps today and plans to increase that to 1Gbps by 2012 (Brookings Institution).
The Overall Framework
The National Broadband Plan correctly looks at more than just home access to the Internet. As a utility, the broadband plan must cover all aspects of society and life that require communications, and includes reference to broadband categories such as:
- Broadband and US economic opportunity (global economy)
- Education
- Health Care
- Energy
- Environment
- eGovernment
- Civic Engagement
- Public Safety
- Entertainment
Next Steps in Broadband
Powerpoint slides and MS Word documents are fine, however we need to focus on tangible results that are measured by meeting our goals. Those goals start with digging holes in the ground, constructing towers, and pulling cable into houses and offices. Everything else is cute, but noise.
“This plan is in beta, and always will be
Like the Internet itself, this plan will always be changing—adjusting to new developments in technologies and markets, reflecting new realities and evolving to realize previously unforeseen opportunities” (From National Broadband Plan)
The National Broadband Plan was delivered to the American people on 17 March, 2010. The goals (as above) are mandated to be in place by 2020. It is an aggressive plan, however Chairman Genachowski appears to have the sense of urgency needed to get it done – unless of course American politics create barriers preventing success.
Americans, and people of all nations should take a close look at the US National Broadband Plan, and those of other nations. If the US and other nations around the world truly consider broadband access as a 4th utility, those who do not have that utility will not be functional in the mid-21st century.
The US plan and strategy is available to all at broadband.gov
Dr. Gilbert Balibaseka Bukenya, Vice President of Uganda told a story during the opening session of Digital Africa 2010. While traveling within the country, he paid special attention to small schools. While lacking nearly every normal school resource, each school had one common denominator – they all had black boards and chalk.
The question started nagging him. As the VP, he was in pretty good touch with imports, exports, and manufacturing within Uganda. But chalk, as an ubiquitous tool, was nearly completely imported from China. Something as simple as chalk, a tool used by nearly everybody n the country, was not being produced in the domestic business sector.
Dr. Bukenya changed that. The chalk problem was quickly rectified, and a new program of “can we make it in Uganda” started. The basic idea is if the product is capable of being made in-country, then Uganda should not pay another country for the product.
Reward local innovation, but don’t forget we are part of a global community
It is very easy to slap a flag on a cardboard box identifying the origin of contents with a “Made with Pride in ____.” And a good idea. If the materials and labor force are available, those things should not be imported, and the product may actually be robust enough for export. In the US we are nearly militant in our enthusiasm supporting “Made in America” campaigns, almost to the point of being accused of a shortfall in patriotism for buying foreign materials.
But let’s keep in mind we are part of a global economy. Innovation and entrepreneurship occurs in every nation of the world, and although it is difficult to admit, some ideas are better than ours. And at some point we like variety. And we can call this world trade.
Be a Hunter, not a Gatherer
Dr. Bukenya further challenged the delegates to change our minds (as a society) from accepting handouts from others, buying everything we use from others, and being dependent on donors for our livelihoods. Take control of our own destiny, and start producing. Nurture entrepreneurs, nurture innovation.
This includes innovation in the ICT sector. Dr. Aggrey Awori, Uganda’s Minister of ICT, stated “broadband (communications) and ICT are now the greatest enablers of modern society.” He went to make an even stronger statement “access to ICT is a basic human entitlement.”
Evidence indicates this is not idle rhetoric, but actual policy. The Open Internet Initiative (ONI) does not find any evidence of government filtering or censoring within the country. The major obstacle in Uganda’s efforts to bring Internet to the people being a lack of basic infrastructure, including both telecom and electricity.
The eLearning Component
Ugandans enjoy government mandated education up secondary school. However, while the basic literacy rate is high (66.8%), there is little wide spread access to advanced education tools such as Internet. Thus students complete their education at a great disadvantage to students in other countries with much greater access to network applications and technology.
Chalk is easy, producing software or manufacturing consumer and industrial goods for export is not. While Dr. Bukenya’s “can we make it in Uganda” idea is worthy, to make it work will require considerably more attention to building basic infrastructure needed to prepare workers for the global marketplace.
As we’ve discussed in previous articles, ICT is the 4th utility. Roads, power, and water are now joined by information and communications technology. Without ICT infrastructure as a basic requirement, a country cannot compete in the global marketplace, and will be restricted to depending on global donors for its existence – not to mention the vulnerability such as country has to political upheaval and violence.
Uganda gets it, and the delegates of Digital Africa 2010 get it. Now it is our job to make sure the rest of the world gets it.
Previous article in this series:
Digital Africa 2010 and Cloud Computing in Developing Countries
