Blandin on Broadband

Thanks to Ann Higgins for sending me a link to the California Broadband Initiative web site. So, what does California have that Minnesota doesn’t aside from above zero temperatures? Apparently a statewide broadband plan.

On January 17, California Broadband Task Force released findings and recommendations in a report to the Governor and Legislature.

The Task Force started with 3 goals:

1. California must ensure ubiquitous and affordable broadband infrastructure, made available through a variety of technologies to all Californians.
2. California must drive the creation and use of applications that produce the greatest economic, educational, and social benefits for California’s economy and communities.
3. California must construct next-generation broadband infrastructure, positioning California as the global economic leader in a knowledge-based economy.

They have a call to action to make California the World’s Broadband leader. And they provide a set of 7 recommendations to get them started in the right direction:

1. Build out high-speed broadband infrastructure to all Californians
2. Develop model permitting standards and encourage collaboration among providers
3. Increase the use and adoption of broadband and computer technology
4. Engage and reward broadband innovation and research
5. Create a statewide e-health network
6. Leverage educational opportunities to increase broadband use
7. Continue state-level and statewide leadership

Availability Map

According to the report, 96 percent of households have access (only half use it). They have a cool map, well pretty cool. I had envisioned something interactive, this is a PDF, but it’s better than most I have seen.

You can see that in the big metro areas have access to speeds of 10 to 100 Mbps. Lots of areas appear to have no access; I assume those areas are sparsely populated. There are a few pockets at 0.1 to 1 Gbps.

Resources for Communities Building Broadband

First, there is a fiber database for providers. The ides being that if you’re thinking about installing fiber, you can see who else working on it and check out possibilities for collaboration. (In fairness, I’m not sure how many businesses are that willing to collaborate, but I love the idea of it.)

There’s a form for government agencies who are interested in starting a broadband project and a team of experts who will help you with the forms and presumably with the broadband projects.