<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
<p class="fly-title"> Wiring rural America</p>
<p class="info">Sep 13th 2007 | BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY<br>
>From <em>The Economist</em> print edition</p>
<h2>A public-private partnership success </h2>
<h2><font color="#ff0000"><small><b><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.connectednation.com/index.php">http://www.connectednation.com/index.php</a></small></b></small></font><br>
</h2>
<p>FROM her remote farm in southern Kentucky, Lajuana Wilcher checks an
online database for local ranchers demanding alfalfa. She can specify
at what price she is willing to sell, which counties to search and
whether her hay is square-baled or rolled. Without her high-speed
internet connection, Ms Wilcher insists, it would take far too long to
find the most generous alfalfa prices, order spare tractor parts and
locate the best breeding stock for her small cattle operation. </p>
<p>Largely rural, Kentucky is best known for its bourbon and horse
racing; it rarely ranks in the top tier of states on any measure of
21st-century success. According to Brian Mefford, president of <a
target="_blank" href="http://www.connectkentucky.org/"
title=" (opens in a new window) ">ConnectKentucky</a>,
a public-private partnership, a few years ago the state had among the
lowest rates of broadband availability in the country. Internet service
providers could not be sure that there were enough Lajuana Wilchers in
the Kentucky countryside to justify new investment in cabling or
wireless transmitters. </p>
<div class="banner">
<div align="left">
<blockquote>
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript"
src="http://www.economist.com/JavaScript/adcode1.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">
<!--
var undefined;
if (random == undefined){
var abc = Math.random() + "";
var random = abc.substring(2,abc.length);
}
// -->
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">
<!--
function ReadCookie(cookieName) {
var theCookie=""+document.cookie;
var ind=theCookie.indexOf(cookieName);
if (ind==-1 || cookieName=="") return "";
var ind1=theCookie.indexOf(';',ind);
if (ind1==-1) ind1=theCookie.length;
return unescape(theCookie.substring(ind+cookieName.length+1,ind1));
}
// CC18658
document.write('<script type\=\"text\/javascript\" language\=\"JavaScript1.1\" src="http:\/\/ad.doubleclick.net\/adj\/main.economist.com\/worldart;abr=!webtv' + subSect() + ';count=' + ReadCookie('sessionCount') + ';sect=world;pos=v5_art350x300;sz=350x300;tile=1;ord=' + random + '?"><\/script>'); //
// -->
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.1"
src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/main.economist.com/worldart;abr=%21webtv;sect=nonsubscriber;count=0;sect=world;pos=v5_art350x300;sz=350x300;tile=1;ord=17577202756318977?"></script><!-- Template Id = 1 Template Name = Banner Creative (Flash) --><!-- Copyright 2002 DoubleClick Inc., All rights reserved. -->
<script src="http://m1.2mdn.net/879366/flashwrite_1_2.js"></script><object
classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="FLASH_AD"
height="250" width="300"><param name="movie"
value="http://m1.2mdn.net/804171/sony_reader_300x250_v3.swf?clickTag=http%3A//ad.doubleclick.net/click%253Bh%3Dv8/35d4/3/0/%252a/n%253B124446031%253B0-0%253B0%253B17971461%253B4307-300/250%253B22196843/22214733/1%253B%253B%257Efdr%253D119498551%253B0-0%253B1%253B7047083%253B799-350/300%253B21834232/21852122/1%253B%253B%257Esscs%253D%253fhttp%3A//www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay%3FcatalogId%3D10551%26storeId%3D10151%26langId%3D-1%26categoryId%3D16184%26XID%3DO%3ASony%20Reader%20FY07%202H%3AEconomist%20Magazine_77"><param
name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#"><param
name="wmode" value="opaque"><param name="AllowScriptAccess"
value="always"></object><noscript></noscript>But
by the end of this year, Mr Mefford boasts, 98% of residents will have
access to inexpensive broadband services. This is primarily because of
ConnectKentucky's effort to map broadband demand in communities that
didn't have access, he says, which indicated that enough people in
Kentucky farm country would sign up if providers entered the market. At
the same time, the organisation also talked up high-speed internet
services to sceptical residents, creating demand where it was slack.
Once isolated Kentuckians can now consult with doctors in faraway
cities or telecommute. </blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<p>ConnectKentucky is just one effort among many programmes in
different states and within the federal government to wire up the
American countryside. Backers compare them to Franklin Roosevelt's New
Deal push to bring electricity to the hinterland. Supporters also hope
expanded rural broadband access will stop the steady loss of population
to cities and suburbs. But not all have been as successful as
Kentucky's. </p>
<p>In 2004 President George Bush set a goal to provide every American
with access to broadband by this year. The federal Agriculture
Department has distributed over a billion dollars in grants and
cut-rate loans to high-speed internet providers interested in rural
markets. But by Mr Bush's yardstick, the effort has been a failure.
Swathes of the country still lack broadband access, though it is hard
to tell how far they extend. Admittedly, wiring up the West, with its
greater distances and thinner population densities, is tougher than
wiring up Kentucky.</p>
<p>Part of the problem has been the poor design of federal loan and
grant schemes by Congress. A loose definition of “rural area”, for
example, let an internet provider get federal funding to wire up a
Houston suburb where million-dollar homes were under construction.
Lawmakers in Washington, <span class="scaps">DC </span>hope to reform
the process. But there are other serious deficiencies in the federal
system. Ensconcing large broadband loan and grant programmes in the
Agriculture Department threatens to drain federal money for decades
into parts of the country that already get other hefty—and often
similarly mismanaged—federal farm and development subsidies. The
comparison to Roosevelt's rural electrification efforts is apt: 70
years on, the Agriculture Department is still financing rural power
companies long after electricity came to the American countryside. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, ConnectKentucky might beat Mr Bush to fulfilling his own
goal. The group is morphing into a company called Connected Nation, and
is helping to wire up the neighbouring states of West Virginia and
Tennessee. </p>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; ">
<meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11">
<meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11">
<link rel="File-List"
href="Peter%20Baston%20Signature_files/filelist.xml">
<title>Peter Baston</title>
<o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="address">
<o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="Street"><o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place">
<o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"><o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State">
<o:SmartTagType
namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
name="PostalCode"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Author>ideapete</o:Author>
<o:LastAuthor>ideapete</o:LastAuthor>
<o:Revision>2</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>3</o:TotalTime>
<o:Created>2007-07-27T22:44:00Z</o:Created>
<o:LastSaved>2007-07-27T22:44:00Z</o:LastSaved>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>42</o:Words>
<o:Characters>241</o:Characters>
<o:Company>IDEAS</o:Company>
<o:Lines>2</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>282</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>11.8132</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object
classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object>
<style>
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
</style>
<![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:#606420;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
</o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType></o:SmartTagType>
<div class="Section1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">Peter
Baston</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">IDEAS</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;"><a
href="http://www.ideapete.com/"><em><span style="font-family: Arial;">www.ideapete.com</span></em></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">3210 La
Paz Lane</span></st1:address></st1:Street></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">Santa Fe</span></st1:City><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">, <st1:State
w:st="on">NM</st1:State> <st1:PostalCode w:st="on">87507</st1:PostalCode></span></st1:place></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><em><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">Albuquerque</span></em></st1:place></st1:City><em><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;"> Office:
505-890-9649</span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><em><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">Santa Fe</span></em></st1:place></st1:City><em><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;"> Office:
505-629-4227</span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">Cell:
505-690-3627</span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: maroon;">Fax:
866-642-8918</span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><u><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: blue;"><a
href="mailto:pete@ideapete.com"><span style="font-style: normal;">Mailto:pete@ideapete.com</span></a></span></u></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>