Bringing Power To the People

That was more than 10 years ago. And Cohill is still wondering why more progress hasn't been made to link small towns with high-speed Internet and more effective IT resources. Actually, Cohill is doing much more than simply lamenting the lack of broadband deployment and the mass feet-dragging by numerous telecoms and IT manufacturers. Cohill runs Design Nine, which he founded in 1989 as an IT consultancy that serves communities, nonprofits, and local and state governments looking to upgrade and improve their telecommunications and IT infrastructures. And he's not alone. A number of local solution providers are stepping up to the plate and filling the void left by noncommittal vendors and service providers. They're helping underserved regions build their own high-speed Internet networks and embrace e-commerce and Web technologies to improve economic development and their quality of life. And contrary to conventional wisdom, these solution providers are making money, too.

Building An E-Village
Cohill assumed full-time control of Design Nine last year after leaving his post as director of the BEV. Since that time, he has worked on a number of projects in small towns and rural communities. Cohill sees his role as a "vendor-neutral technology adviser" for communities working toward upgrading their IT infrastructures or deploying their own telecommunications systems. Currently, Design Nine is advising several localities in Virginia, Texas, Illinois and New Mexico.

"Telecommunications has become somewhat of a public utility, and small towns need to take control of their own IT infrastructures rather than let some company dictate [to them]," Cohill says. "Rural communities that don't have high-speed Internet access are going to get bypassed by economic development."

Remarkably, such localities are investing in voice and data networks that are community-built and managed. Cohill and his team help small towns devise a so-called "master plan" for their IT infrastructures that matches the communities' needs but also takes into account other aspects, such as economic development, utility consumption, education and other issues.

One Design Nine project is under way in Los Alamos County, N.M. The local government is currently in the midst of an ambitious venture that will run a fiber network to every home and business in the community. County officials are hoping the high-speed network will help the rural area better connect with larger regions such as Santa Fe. "From an economic perspective, they're isolated, and they have lousy connections to outside areas," Cohill says. "They wanted a modern telecom system, and they had to build it themselves because no one else would do it."

While broadband access itself is a treat for rural communities, Cohill says today's applications are not only powerful enough to push broadband demand and adoption but can also give localities major cost-cutting advantages. He points to Apple's new Unix-based OS X operating system, which includes an audio and video program, dubbed iChat AV. The videoconferencing tool uses the "AOL Buddy" message system and lets users connect to one another using the buddy names, so IP addresses, dedicated Ethernet ports and domain names aren't required. "Apple typically drags the rest of the industry forward kicking and screaming and shows how technology is supposed to work," Cohill says.

Cohill believes the repercussions of such technology could be huge for telecoms. For example, a community-built high-speed Internet network could leverage audio programs such as iChat AV to allow users to make phone calls anywhere in the world for the flat price of broadband access. That could essentially eliminate expensive phone bills and long-distance fees charged by the telecoms. Therefore, an investment in a community-owned and operated high-speed network could provide actual ROI for residents, saving them money for telecom service.

As for the idea that helping small local governments is a financial dead-end, Cohill has plenty of evidence to refute that. Consider that the BEV has one of the highest rates of Internet use per capita at 87 percent; roughly 60 percent has broadband access at home and work. The project is credited with creating new jobs and driving economic development in Blacksburg during the past six years, much of it coming from the high-tech sector.

Painting the Town
Once the network has been deployed, then what? Cohill cites the case of Cedar Falls, Iowa, which has a community-owned fiber service that offers residents high-speed Internet access for between $35 and $40 a month per home; more than 70 percent of the city's homes have broadband access. So how do 6,000 households take advantage of the bandwidth treasures?

In addition to helping the community lure more employers and construct new office parks with the voice and data network, broadband Internet opened doors for economic development, specifically through a project called "Silicorn.net." The cleverly named Web site was constructed by ME&V (Mathis, Earnest and Vandeventer), a Web-design and marketing agency based in Cedar Falls, and it serves as a digital hub for local businesses. Matthew Hundley, director of interactive technology at ME&V, says Silicorn.net is a valuable tool for business owners and the local government to promote and market Cedar Falls.

"We needed a way to let people know both locally and outside the city what was offered in Cedar Falls," Hundley says.

The keenly designed site opens with the statement: "The technology infrastructure your business needs is firmly rooted in a place you may not have considered," and then declares that "fields of opportunity await" businesses in Cedar Falls. Silicorn.net lists local businesses and offers a directory for technology and business-development resources, as well as education, training and financial resources for prospective businesses. The site also features case studies of local businesses that have leveraged the high-speed network; Sector 8 Animation, the site explains, creates digital animation for video games and film, and through Cedar Falls Utilities, the company can transport large digital files easier and more freely. Obviously, such a business would never set up shop in Cedar Falls without high-speed access. "This was definitely a grassroots effort. There weren't any telecoms or tech vendors coming in here to show us how to do things," Hundley says.

Like Cohill, Hundley says rural communities can be deceiving. Small-town governments are more willing to take the initiative on IT and telecommunications than most people think, he says. Now ME&V is working with localities and communities to help increase their Web presence and bring them further into the digital age. "We're looking at other areas for projects like Silicorn.net," Hundley says. "I think there are certainly more opportunities out there for something like this."