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36 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | MARCH/APRIL 2014 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT essential for both. Recent U.S. surveys by SNG indicate that more than 75 percent of home business owners, including those that do not currently have broadband access, say broadband access is essential to operate their businesses. Close to 30 percent of home business owners strongly agree they would have to relocate to get broadband access if it were not available. Tis has clear implications for attracting and retaining households in communities. Te same SNG fndings suggest that a third of teleworkers strongly agree they would not have their current jobs if they were not able to telework, and more than one-ffth strongly agree that their ability to telework has helped them avoid relocation for employment. As a result, almost 30 percent strongly agree that they spend more within the community by working from home. Where teleworking occurs, it contributes to additional employment within these communities, enabling people to live and work in their community of choice. More than 44 percent say that teleworking is very important for opening up more employment opportunities, and 73 percent cite improved life-work balance as a very important beneft of teleworking. Because of all its benefts to households, broadband is a signifcant factor in attracting and retaining populations and households in communities. More than 30 percent of households say that they would defnitely or very likely relocate to another community to get broadband services. Broadband, in this context, becomes a tool for business recruitment as well as for attracting newcomers in a world where individuals can literally choose to work and live anywhere. Broadband, therefore, is an important tool in a community's sustainability strategy. CONCLUSION For an individual business, using more eSolutions has a signifcant efect. Revenue is expanded through increased market reach and lower cost; 24/7 customer access to sales, product information and online purchases; as well as measurable cost savings through more efcient transaction speeds, better management of inventory and sales and other operational efciencies. For Lac qui Parle, which already enjoys 100 percent coverage, the impacts SNG estimated are based on increasing eSolutions among existing broadband users. For Kanabec County, with 27 percent coverage, the impacts estimated are based on the combined impacts of increasing utilization of eSolutions among existing broadband users and encouraging non-users to become new adopters of broadband. Te comparison between the two counties shows the impact potential of infuencing both new utilization and expanding eSolutions utilization among existing broadband subscribers. From past SNG research, the required investment to achieve measurable results is on the order of $120,000 to $145,000 for La qui Parle County and $175,000 to $225,000 for Kanabec. Tis level of investment would provide sufcient resources to mobilize an efective outreach, awareness and utilization program targeted to expanding efective and efcient use of eSolutions. At this level of investment, a leverage efect of as much as 10 to 1 can be anticipated, so that for a $1 investment, $10 is returned in direct and spinof impacts to the local economy. Furthermore, when there is an existing broadband network, the tax efect from driving broadband utilization would be net positive, with a ratio of 1.03 to 1.25 greater returns in tax revenues than the public investment made. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations for promoting broadband investment, increasing coverage and driving utilization include the following: • Implement a process for measuring adoption and utilization, not just coverage. • Engage local stakeholders to "own the process" of driving economic development through broadband utilization. • Collect meaningful, actionable broadband data through the proper utilization metrics and indicators to measure current status and track progress towards goals. • Provide case studies that illustrate local examples of broadband impacts. v Michael Curri is the founder and president of Strategic Networks Group, which brings global experience and specialization in broadband economics while working with local stakeholders to build regional knowledge and capacity. He can be contacted at mcurri@sngroup.com. Tis article was excerpted from a report prepared for Blandin Foundation. Te full report is available at http://blandinfoundation. org/_uls/resources/SNG--ROI_from_ Broadband_ Infrastructure_and_ Utilization--01-31-14.pdf. Broadband access promotes home business success and teleworking, which in turn promotes local spending and keeps households from relocating outside the community. Broadband is an important tool in a community's sustainability strategy. BBC_Mar14.indd 36 3/14/14 2:46 PM