February 7 th, 2013 Dale Merten C.O.O. Broadband Summit

Objectives Identify all barriers to adoption Overcome those with straightforward solutions. Increase adoption from 40% to 100%

Target Audience Only requirement is you do not subscribe to broadband Income, education, experience, age, race, physical abilities is unimportant We cast a WIDE net!

How it works Free laptop Free broadband for 2 years (5mb min) Free installation At least 40 hours classroom training –Basic skills to advanced MS Office –Social media, Ebay, you name it Transportation if required

Partners Cowlitz Tribal Housing –Classrooms & transportation Centralia Community College –A wonderful instructor! Chehalis Tribal Council –Multi-site training NTIA –Could do it without you!

Results Program funded 750 new subscribers –Currently just under 600! All age groups, income brackets, ethnic backgrounds, education levels participate at similar rate We have made a huge difference in peoples lives

What We Have Learned Direct Mailers don’t work –Waste of money and trees Door to door works –The right approach easily opens the door Face to face works –Community events, school district, senior centers, church A friendly newspaper works –A few good words better than 1000 ads

The Toughest Nut To Crack Relevance –“I see no need to be online” Our adoption rate is above 80% –Those few holdouts may never adopt More will adopt over time –Most people did not have a cell phone in 1990 We must accept less than 100% is OK –As long as 100% have access

February 7 th, 2013 Dale Merten C.O.O. Broadband Summit