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BROADBAND COMMUNITIES
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www.broadbandcommunities.com
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015
COMMUNITY BROADBAND
A Fiber to Every Premises
CTgig's public-private, open-access model aims to provide economic development and
low-income support to every address in Connecticut.
By Bill Vallée / Connecticut State Broadband Ofce
T
here is ample demand for afordable,
gigabit-level access across Connecticut.
High-tech businesses and higher
education institutions, both well represented
in the state, depend on digitally manipulating
massive data sets and transferring results around
the world for manufacturing, health and
medical processes, and educational resources.
In spite of that demand, gigabit broadband
in Connecticut is either unavailable or
prohibitively expensive, a problem equally
signifcant for small businesses, community
anchor institutions and residential premises.
Te state, too, has essential public policy
goals that depend on access to broadband. It
has the widest demographic gap of any state
for student educational achievement, and, even
though it has the highest per capita income in the
United States, it has several of the poorest, most
crime-ridden cities in the country. Supplying
low-cost broadband access to every address could
ameliorate these problems, at least in part.
Te state's long-term vision is one fber
line to every premises, including residences,
businesses, and community anchor institutions
– just as there now exists one electric line, one
water line and a road to every premises.
MUNICIPALITIES GET INVOLVED
To remedy the lack of afordable, reliable
broadband, Connecticut municipalities want
to fnd highly motivated, high-caliber private
sector partners that will fnance, build and
manage communitywide, open-access, fber-to-
the-premises (FTTP) networks.
Municipalities traditionally build
infrastructure such as roads and bridges
to create economic development and jobs.
Tey have stepped up to address broadband
infrastructure because they are aware of the
problems their neighborhoods, businesses and
community anchor institutions confront. After
all, municipal leaders are the ones who get the
phone calls when city systems fail.
Tough the Internet is located in cyberspace,
municipalities own the ground and have a
central role in regulating the physical elements
of the Internet located in the public rights of way
(streets, utility poles and underground conduit).
In short, justice in today's municipalities
requires equal access to the Internet and other
utility resources, and local leaders are responsible
for making certain that all residents and
businesses have a fair share of digital resources.
Te digital divide may be only one division
among people living and companies operating
in Connecticut, but in the 21st century, it is one
of the most profound and potentially damaging
disruptions.
For background on CTgig, see Gigabits
Across Connecticut in the January-
February 2015 issue of this magazine.
www.bbcmag.com/2015mags/Jan_Feb/
BBC_Jan15_GigabitsConnecticut.pdf
