By Ryan Johnston
From August 5-7, vendors, broadband deployment specialists, digital equity experts and community leaders from all over the nation came together in Denver, Colorado for the Mountain Connect Conference. Senior Policy Counsel for Federal Affairs, Ryan Johnston, moderated a panel of local officials, industry professionals, and nonprofit service providers. Panelists included Joshua Edmonds, CEO of DigitalC, Taylor Carter-Disanto, Deputy Director of Broadband and Digital Equity for the City of Baltimore IT Department, Alberto Garcia, Government and Community Affairs Manager at Google Fiber, and Ellie de Villiers, Executive Director of the Maple Broadband Communications Union District In Vermont.
The discussion began with a simple question, “What is the biggest challenge that we would be facing in a post BEAD world?” Carter-Disanto and Edmonds highlighted that for urban communities the problems they are likely to face in the future are the same problems they face now. They noted that BEAD funding will not be available to urban communities such as Baltimore and Cleveland. As a result, that would have little bearing on the digital inequities their cities face. Garcia noted that Google Fiber’s main challenge will be providing the ongoing support to provide both deployment and digital equity solutions to those partners. De Villiers explained that even in rural communities BEAD likely cannot connect every household that needs to be served. Her challenge post BEAD will be identifying which households have not been connected and determining what solutions are available to bring them online.
Other highlights of the discussion included a robust dialogue between the panelists on the necessity of engaging community based organizations (“CBOs”) in future planning. Edmonds and Garcia highlighted that their deployment and digital skills work often starts with the community based organizations that are engaging the most disconnected community members. Carter-Disanto added that working with CBOs that do not work on broadband make the best partners. She explained they are able to help connect the dots for residents in areas that may not tie directly to Internet service. De Villiers cautioned attendees that while CBOs can be powerful allies, in rural America they are not as prevalent as in urban centers. As a result, working more closely with community anchor institutions is paramount to future success.
Across the panelists a common theme emerged: As communities and businesses engage in digital equity planning, how we provide people pride of service is paramount to garnering participation in broadband assistance programs. Edmonds and Garcia both highlighted that terms such as “low-income” are “poison pills” for affordability, device, and digital skills programs. “You’ll never hear me say low-income in public, I’ve said low-income more times today than I have all year,” Edmonds joked. Carter-Disanto and de Villiers both agreed that polarizing terms are the fastest way to put off potential program recipients and ensure that they won’t be messengers for your efforts.
When discussing funding, Carter-Disanto highlighted the grantmaking work the city of Baltimore has done. Their gran programs help CBOs to build capacity and reach the community members that need digital services and skills the most. Each panelist agreed that while federal and state funding makes up a large part of funding communities can use, philanthropic organizations play a pivotal role. Highlighting that philanthropy can play an important part in providing funding to fill in the gaps created by state and federal programs.
The discussion concluded with each panelist offering recommendations planning to maintain momentum after the BEAD program has concluded. Each panelist agreed that framing planning around “the service residents believe they deserve” will provide clear roadmapping for the challenges and services that BEAD cannot solve or provide.
You can also read about Corian’s earlier panel on affordability with Breckenridge, Colorado, and the New Mexico State Library here.
