States' role in broadband: Goofus or Gallant

There’s been a lot of attention paid to the role the federal government plays in fueling broadband deployment and adoption as a result of the broadband stimulus program and the National Broadband Plan. But a recent report from The Pew Center on the States reminds us that state governments also can play an important role.

People of my generation may remember the Goofus and Galant comics that used to appear in Highlights for Children magazine. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, Goofus was a kid who always did what he wasn’t supposed to — throwing a snowball at another kid’s face, for example. His nemesis, Galant, always did a more correct version of the same activity — for example, throwing a snowball at a fence post.

The Pew Center report, entitled “Bringing America Up to Speed: States’ Role in Expanding Broadband,” essentially singles out states that have been Galants when it comes to encouraging broadband deployment and adoption. And although it stops short of pointing the finger at any Goofuses, it does point out how Goofus actions or inaction on the part of states can have the reverse affect.

A few examples of Galant-like behavior:

* Minnesota gives service providers an extra level of flexibility in their ability to raise rates in exchange for commitments to expand broadband deployment.

* South Dakota has encouraged telemedicine by streamlining the process for doctors outside the state to be allowed to treat state residents using the technology.

* Pennsylvania officials are working with the national nonprofit Public Broadcasting Service to create digital learning libraries that would give students in the classroom access to content produced by PBS’ more than 300 public television stations that is pertinent to their studies.

* Arizona has an online voter registration system that connects the state’s driver’s license database with voter registration rolls, thereby reducing fraud and decreasing the cost of processing an application from 83 cents to 3 cents.

* Michigan helps expedite broadband network deployment by using a central authority to coordinate public rights-of-way. Service providers are required to report the location of new installations, and the state takes care of billing the provider and distributing the appropriate compensation to individual local municipalities. The central authority also keeps tabs on how the municipalities use the funds, which are supposed to be spent on upkeep for the rights-of-way.

* Massachusetts has a program for communicating information about network-related deployments between state agencies so that they can piggyback onto one another’s projects. A broadband deployment along a major highway came about when one agency learned that another was installing a conduit for an IT-based traffic management system.

Although it’s not exactly beach reading (unless you’re as much of a nerd as I am), the Pew Report is highly accessible and offers great advice on how your state can be a Galant, rather than a Goofus, when it comes to broadband. I recommend it to anyone seeking creative solutions to encourage broadband use and deployment.