Broadband Is A Driving Force Behind The Digital Revolution

Harnessing the power and versatility of the Internet has become a priority in North Dakota. That effort is dependent on a reliable broadband infrastructure to rural areas. Steve Wennblom reports those efforts to bring education and business opportunities through the pipeline are already underway but the effort has its challenges.

"We are in the middle of a revolution - a digital revolution," said Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association.

And, the major remaining challenge today is providing a reliable, affordable and high-speed broadband "pipeline" to all Internet consumers in their homes and businesses. Dakota Carrier Network General Manager Evan Hass said "The key benefits to a ring network are reliability, high quality and a connection to the world at a competative price." According to the U.S. government, only 4 to 5% of the U.S. have broadband access. Everyone else connects to the Internet via a modem through his or her telephone service.

However, the changeover to broadband has begun, as companies offer a variety of broadband Internet services. These include cable, an enhanced telephone service called digital subscriber line or (DSL), satellite technology, terrestrial (or fixed) wireless technologies, and others.

In North Dakota, one fiber optic provider operates two network broadband rings throughout the state. Evans told those attending the E-business conference, " You can provide the paths but there is still need for individual communities to do the work; establish the centers to make use of the kind of network that is there."

The push to make broadband accessible to everyone prompted Democrat Senator Byron Dorgan to take action. He has authored legislation, fashioned after the Rural Electrics, which would provide broadband access to rural areas. Meantime, the state legislature has awarded 10-point -six million dollars to the Information Technology Department for primary, secondary and higher education. "It's important that we put in our education program classes that our young kids can get exposed to technology," said Mike Ressler of North Dakota's Information Technology Department.

Broadband access has already created a new opportunity for creating Business Technology Centers or BTCs in small, rural communities. Hass said, " BTCs are a great way to put a circuit into a building in a town to attract regional businesses or start new businesses." The use of broadband service has already brought the outside world to one North Dakota community. Agri ImaGIS, of Maddock, provides satellite mapping to agriculture and rural businesses, nationwide. Lanny Faleide of the Maddock Business and Technology Center said, " Broadband empowers rural America to incorporate agriculture with technology and that is where agriculture has to go."

Several concerns need to be addressed to make Broadband access a success.

• The cost of installation, equipment and service must come down to draw consumers
• Teachers need to be trained to become tech-savvy
• Tech curriculum needs to be created
• And, finding the right people to keep the system running

Ressler told the audience, "The only people that we're getting from out of state are those who were born and raised in North Dakota or spent time here and they want to come back. So, the key is that we're going to have to grow our own technology people."