1. Handouts and presentations are available online at www.iowaleague.org. Why Broadband Matters Curtis Dean, Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities

2.  It matters for EDUCATION  It matters for JOBS  It matters for HEALTH CARE  It matters for QUALITY OF LIFE  It matters for THE FUTURE of every community Why DOES Broadband Matter?

3. “Broadband refers to high-speed data transmission in which a single cable can carry a large amount of data at once.” http://www.techterms.com/definition/broadband http://www.techterms.com/definition/broadband “Broadband or high-speed Internet access allows users to access the Internet and Internet-related services at significantly higher speeds than those available through “dial-up” Internet access services.” –FCC http://www.fcc.gov/guides/getting-broadband http://www.fcc.gov/guides/getting-broadband What is BROADBAND?

4. How FAST is BROADBAND? 3 Mbps 4 Mbps 5 Mbps 10 Mbps

5. How FAST is BROADBAND? 3 Mbps 4 Mbps 5 Mbps 10 Mbps 50 Mbps 105 Mbps

6. How fast SHOULD broadband be? 3 Mbps 4 Mbps 5 Mbps 10 Mbps 50 Mbps 105 Mbps 50 Mbps 105 Mbps 1,000 Mbps

7.  Fast  Reliable  Affordable  Ubiquitous  Platform-agnostic (although fiber is the ‘gold standard’) What is GOOD Broadband?

8.  Slow  Unreliable: frequent outages  Expensive  Limited usage (data caps)  Limited availability (haves and have nots) What is BAD Broadband?

9. Why Broadband Matters: Education

10.  In the school: The way we educate our kids has been transformed by technology. That technology requires broadband  In the home: learning doesn’t stop when the child arrives home. If they don’t have reliable broadband, they can’t do homework. Education

12. Why Broadband Matters: Jobs

13. Jobs SOURCE: http://internetinnovation.org/library/special-reports/10-facts-about-broadband-and-jobs/

14. Jobs SOURCE: http://internetinnovation.org/library/special-reports/10-facts-about-broadband-and-jobs/

15. Jobs SOURCE: http://internetinnovation.org/library/special-reports/10-facts-about-broadband-and-jobs/

16. Jobs SOURCE: http://internetinnovation.org/library/special-reports/10-facts-about-broadband-and-jobs/

17. Why Broadband Matters: Health Care

18.  Particularly crucial for rural health care providers  Scarcity of primary care physicians and specialists  Telemedicine: consultations, examinations and the real-time monitoring of patients Health Care

20. Why Broadband Matters: Quality of Life

21. Quality of Life  Will this family want to live in a community where their kids can’t complete homework because of slow or unreliable broadband?  Will this family want to live in a community where they can’t work from home because of bad broadband?  Will this family want to live in a community where slow and/or unreliable broadband limits their entertainment choices?

22. Broadband Matters! Now what?

23.  Determine what you HAVE, what you NEED, and if there’s a gap, explore HOW to close it  Meet with local broadband providers  Discuss what they offer now  Discuss their plans for future improvements  Connect Iowa Community Engagement Program  Amy Kuhlers, Connect Iowa Program Manager  akuhlers@connectiowa.org akuhlers@connectiowa.org Broadband Inventory

24. One Option: Municipal Broadband  70+ communities have authorized municipal broadband by referendum (50%)  20+ communities have built broadband networks to offer service to homes and businesses  10+ communities are in various stages of exploring municipal broadband networks

26. Questions? Curtis Dean Broadband Services Coordinator Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities