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PLANNING FOR BROADBAND: An Evaluation of California’s High Speed Internet Infrastructure Programs Ryan G. Miller A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Planning University of Washington 2014 Committee: Manish Chalana Jan Whittington Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Department of Urban Planning 1 ©Copyright 2014 Ryan G. Miller 2 3 University of Washington ABSTRACT Planning for Broadband: An Evaluation of California’s High Speed Internet Infrastructure Programs Ryan G. Miller 2014 63 pages Chair of the Thesis Supervisory Committee: Manish Chalana Assistant Professor Department of Urban Design and Planning This thesis assesses the implementation of the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), which expands broadband Internet service to high-need communities in rural California. I examine 25 successful projects funded by the program as well as one large project which failed to obtain funding from the program – dubbed Golden Bear Broadband. By pulling from the fields of economics, philosophy, and political science, I attempt to understand how the planning process for CASF projects affects the program’s goal of serving high need communities. I also examine equity issues surrounding the program’s funding mechanism and policy objectives. By reconstructing the stakeholder agreements made in planning for Golden Bear Broadband, I show that the planning process lead to a project design that was forced to stray from program objectives. I conclude with recommendations for reforming broadband subsidization policy in California and observations about how alternate plans for service expansion are currently being carried out in rural parts of the state. 4 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would not have been possible without the encouragement and support I received from mentors and colleagues at every step of the process. I am especially grateful to Cathy Emerson, Project Manager at the Center for Economic Development at California State University, Chico. Cathy not only provided the initial spark which set me off down this path of research as an undergraduate, but she has since helped me track down countless documents and contacts in the preparation of this thesis, and continues to be a source for energy and inspiration. I owe thanks to the entire Chico crew including Warren Jensen, Sandy Linville, and Jason Schwenkler, and to my outrageously talented GIS interns Amy Lippus and Alyssa Caldwell. I also owe thanks to the staff of the Communications Division of the California Public Utilities Commission, including administrators of the California Advanced Services Fund. While respecting their confidentiality, I want to acknowledge and thank those staff members who took the time to share their thoughts with me and helped me understand the programs and policies from their perspective. Finally, I thank the academic community here in Gould Hall. Comparing notes and brainstorming with Kelly Hostetler, Elizabeth Johnson, Abby Weber, Lynn Fredenburg, and others was instrumental in forming my initial ideas for this research. Most of all I thank my thesis committee, Jan Whittington and Manish Chalana, whose patience and persistence with me has been enormously appreciated. 6 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Context ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Research Design ...................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Study Purpose .......................................................................................................................................................................... 13 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Theoretical Literature .................................................................................................................................................. 14 2.2 Empirical Literature ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 Mental Health Reform: The Lanterman-Petris-Short Act .............................................................................................. 23 Housing on Federal Land: New Towns-in-Town ............................................................................................................. 24 Federal Investments to Combat Poverty: EDA in Oakland ........................................................................................... 24 2.3 Literature of Practice: Broadband Policy Thus Far ................................................................................................ 25 2.4 History of State and Federal Broadband Policy ...................................................................................................... 30 3 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................................. 39 3.1 Evaluation of the Golden BEar Planning Process ................................................................................................... 39 3.2 Evaluation of the Golden Bear Proposal .................................................................................................................. 40 3.3 Evaluation of communities currently served by casf projects ............................................................................. 40 4 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................................................... 42 4.1 The Golden Bear Planning Process ........................................................................................................................... 42 Planning Framework for CASF Projects ............................................................................................................................ 42 Evolution of the Golden Bear Broadband Proposal ........................................................................................................ 43 Application Submission and Denial ..................................................................................................................................... 49 The Complexity of Joint Action and the Decreasing Probability of Program Success ............................................ 49 4.2 The Golden Bear Proposal .......................................................................................................................................... 52 4.3 Communities Currently Served By CASF Projects ............................................................................................... 54 5 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................................................... 58 8 5.1 Golden Bear and the Future ....................................................................................................................................... 58 5.2 CASF’s First 25 Projects In Perpsective ................................................................................................................... 59 5.3 Taking a Step Back: Re-Examining the CASF Strategy .......................................................................................... 60 6 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Suggestions for Further study ............................................................................................................................................... 63 7 GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................................................................... 64 9 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The Internet in 1979 ....................................................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 2: Broadband Speeds At Different Times of Day .......................................................................................................... 29 Figure 3: Visualization of the CalREN Network ........................................................................................................................ 35 Figure 4: Mobile Phone Surcharges in California ....................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 5: CASF Broadband Planning Consortia .......................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 6: NECCC/UCCC Strategy Hand-Out ............................................................................................................................ 43 Figure 7: Existing Fiber Infrastructure in Northern California;