Viewpoints
By: Rollie Cole, Broadband Communities
Editorial Note: Broadband Communities contributor Rollie Cole has attended the Broadband Communities Summit for the past 20 years. He submitted these thoughts after attending Broadband Communities Summit 2024 earlier this month.
The Broadband Communities Summit has been running for over two decades. Next year’s summit is already scheduled, for June 23-25 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. More information about Broadband Communities Summit 2025 is available here.
Here are four reflections from Broadband Communities contributor and event vet Rollie Cole following Broadband Communities Summit 2024.
1. Universal and reasonable access is now a national goal
The idea that broadband should be universally accessible at reasonable prices, reasonable speeds, and reasonable reliability is now the official goal of the current Biden Administration, with supporting legislation and appropriations from bipartisan majorities in the U.S. Congress.
The same goal has been supported by state executive and legislative activity in most states, and by local councils and referenda. We no longer discuss the digital divide as equivalent to the “Mercedes divide.” The concept of broadband as “the fourth utility” seems well accepted by most people and governments at all levels.
2. The technology is well along the “faster, better, cheaper” learning curve
The improvements are not just in basic carriage – wires, cables, fibers, and radio waves. They include new conduit materials, new reinstatement materials, new processes (micro trenching), new radios, new splicing tools, new management and marketing software programs, and much more.
3. The industry has many new players
We have many more public and private entities constructing and operating networks. We have many more financing them. We have many more design consultants, engineering consultants, and marketing consultants. We have many more entities offering a subset of broadband services – ISPs willing and able to operate on someone else’s network, separate offerings for email, text messages, sound, video, domain name services, web services, and thousands of broadband-based apps, including those that compete with traditional land-based offerings for food, lodging, and transportation.
4. Users have many new ways to use broadband
I think of the many new (and some old) broadband uses in five categories, which I call CHEET.
First is “C.”
Communications – email, text messages, video conferences and social media have become major supplements to in-person, paper mail, and even telephone. We see growing use by individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and governments.
Second (in the acronym, although not in amount of use) is “H,” for health. A growing portion of health information and health services are being delivered online.
Third is “E.” Economics.
Employers, employees, and entrepreneurs are all using more online activities to accomplish their goals – cloud computing, remote work, internet marketing, and online sales and purchasing are all growing – hugely kicked up by the pandemic but growing before and after that.
Fourth is “E.” Entertainment.
Electronic games are now a bigger industry than movies. Esports are a growing activity in schools from K through college and elsewhere. Streaming and social media postings are huge supplements to more traditional over-the-air and cable broadcasts.
Fifth is “T.” Teaching. During the pandemic, we had a huge jump in remote formal education. But before and since, we have growing use of online tutoring, online educational apps, and online posting of textbooks, technical manuals, encyclopedias, and other educational materials in formal courses and elsewhere.
Twenty years ago, none of these were anywhere near where we are today. The United States (and of course other parts of the world) have come a long way in those 20 years.
