Leaders want wider broadband access

Broadband Internet access may be the answer to a shortage of health-care workers, dwindling employment opportunities and providing declining rural North Dakota school districts with teachers, state leaders say.

They want to make sure broadband, or high speed, access is available and affordable.

To promote broadband connectivity, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce of Fargo Moorhead and Connected Nation – a national nonprofit organization that works to expand access to and use of broadband Internet – sponsored a community forum in Fargo on Monday.

Cities, counties and schools in North Dakota have 100 percent broadband coverage through a state system, said Lisa Feldner, chief information officer for the state’s Information Technology Department.

She did not know what percentage of the general public has broadband access in the state.

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Lt. Governor Jack Dalrymple said the state needs to map its broadband accessibility.

Based on a program it conducted in Kentucky, Connected National estimates that increased broadband accessibility could mean a $264 million yearly economic impact in North Dakota, including $186 million in wages from nearly 5,800 new jobs.

The organization also estimates $1.4 million in health-care savings and $13.9 million in mileage savings.

Panelists at the forum gave examples of how broadband is shaping education, health care, agriculture and employment in rural communities.

School districts without the resources to hire teachers for foreign language or advanced math classes can offer those classes with the help of technology, Dalrymple said.

“The answers lie in connectivity and broadband and we have to pursue that aggressively because time is marching on,” he said.

A telepharmacy project allows small towns without pharmacists to continue operating with a registered pharmacy technician connected to a licensed pharmacist through video conferencing, said Ann Rathke, telepharmacy coordinator for the North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Allied Sciences.

There are 57 telepharmacy sites in the state, with plans to open another 10 starting in September, she said.

An online mapping program from AgriData Inc. in Grand Forks, N.D., allows for more accurate aerial applications, said David Hagert, president and chief executive officer of AgriData.

Farmers can even purchase livestock and equipment through online auctions from the comfort of their homes, said Jeffrey Missling, North Dakota Farm Bureau executive vice president.

“You’re only an e-mail away from being able to do business with a whole new sector of consumers,” he said.

Missling and Don Morton, Microsoft Fargo site leader, said a good example of how broadband access can boost the economy is through companies like Verety.

The Oak Brook, Ill., company allows North Dakotans to take drive-through fast-food orders from all over the country from their homes.

“Broadband allows companies to be in locations where they can attract and keep the very best and brightest people,” Morton said.

Online

www.connectednation.org/economic_impact_study/index.php

- Read the Connected Nation report.

Source (registration required, hint)