A couple of years ago, I met with several top officials in a major state government at the peak application time for Federal broadband funds that were part of the stimulus program. Although the Governor was committed to ensuring that 95%+ of the homes in his state would have broadband and his staff all agreed to this goal, many of them couldn’t really say why this would be a good thing.
So, in a moment of frustration in the meeting, I spent maybe twenty minutes rattling off dozens of possible things people could do if broadband were a statewide reality. That frustration led me to start a list called “1001 Uses For Broadband” – partly, in homage to the ending of the classic late 1980s thriller “F/X” and SuperGlue.
Fast forward to last week, where I met with the OneMaryland network and Howard County officials for another broadband brainstorming session. Using stimulus money, they’ve created one of the more interesting broadband projects, partly due to a very innovative executive, Ken Ulman.
To get the discussion going, I put together a presentation based on the 1001 uses approach. I’ll be sharing these ideas on this blog over the next few months, organized by category.
I hope that you and others add to the list. It really won’t be hard. The key is to think about what broadband can do for a community, county, city, state or nation.
The way to frame the question is: what can people do that has been hindered by travel or other significant costs?
Next: How Can Broadband Get People Healthier?
© 2012 Norman Jacknis
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