2018 Oregon Broadband Adoption Report
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Broadband in Oregon A Report of the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council Presented to the Joint Legislative Committee on Information Management and Technology for The Eightieth Legislative Assembly November 1, 2018 Broadband in Oregon 2018 Contents Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………………..…3 Broadband in Oregon – Infrastructure Trends and Technologies…………………………..…5 – Industry Structure …………………………………………..……….5 – Broadband Infrastructure Projects……..……………….………...…47 – Public Policy……..……………….………...……………………….57 Broadband Accessibility in Oregon …………………………………………………...…..….62 Broadband Service Providers in Oregon……………………………………….……….….62 Broadband Affordability in Oregon …………………………………………………….…….71 Broadband Performance……………………………………………………………….…..…..80 Broadband Technology Adoption and Utilization in Oregon ………………………….……..81 Broadband Adoption ………………………………………………………………………81 Telehealth …………………………………………………………………………….…....83 Energy Management ………………………………………………………….…….……..89 Education ………………………………………………………………………...…..….…93 E-Government ……………………………………………….………………………...….102 The Role of Broadband in local, state and regional economies, and economic development ……………………………………………………………….107 Broadband Related Challenges and Opportunities………………………….…………...…....113 Digital Inclusion …………………………………………………………………………..113 Cyber Security …………………………….……………………………………...……….114 Public Safety: FirstNet / 911 Centers……...…………………..……………….………….115 Agriculture …………………………………………………………………...……………119 Local Community Broadband Planning ………………………………………….…….….121 Federal Funding Programs …………………………………………………………………122 Network Interconnection...………………………………………………………….………123 Recommendations ………………………………………………………………………….124 Concluding Remarks………………………………………………………………………..126 Appendices …...…………………………….…………………………………………….........127 Appendix A – What is Broadband? ....………….………...……………………….………………..127 Appendix B – Energy Survey ...……………………………….……………………………...128 Appendix C – Oregon Broadband Advisory Council Members 2018………………..……….…….130 Appendix D – Oregon Broadband Advisory Council Summary of Activities 2010-2018………….132 References……………………………………………….………..……………….....................141 Acknowledgments ………………………………………………..……………..…….…..……143 2 Executive Summary This is the fifth report of the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council (OBAC) to the Legislative Assembly on the affordability and accessibility of broadband technology in all areas of the state, and on broadband technology use in healthcare, energy management, education and government. The 2018 report will also present information on the role of broadband in local, regional and state economies, economic development, public policy issues, and key broadband related challenges and opportunities and facing the state. The Internet, and broadband access to it, continue to grow in importance as it becomes the platform on which the world works. This year, global broadband subscriptions surpassed the one billion mark. In 1997, global Internet traffic was less than 1 Gigabyte (GB) per second (0.03 GB), in 2016 global Internet traffic was 26,600 GB per second, and by 2021 it is projected to be 105,800 GB per second. “Broadband is not a speed. It is the capacity to meet the social, cultural and economic demands of Internet users, which grow and evolve over time.” - Jonathan Chambers OBAC believes that Oregon’s broadband public policy needs to be focused on the future, be more aggressive, be more financially supportive, be more specific, and have a renewed sense of urgency. OBAC has observed and frequently reported that “broadband” is a moving target and that broadband infrastructure will always be a work in progress. This is critical for the assessment of Broadband in Oregon. The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) current benchmark for broadband is 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, and that bar will be raised in the future due to improving technologies, the introduction of new applications and ever increasing end-user demand. This means that the digital divide not only continues to exist, but will grow without new and continued investment in broadband infrastructure. This means that Oregon communities that do not have access to today’s or tomorrow’s national standards for broadband services will not be able to adequately support long term economic growth. Key Broadband Challenges and Opportunities OBAC has identified the following key broadband challenges and opportunities facing Oregon. Digital Inclusion: Oregon needs state-level strategies and programs to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to affordable state of the art broadband communications services, and the skills, knowledge and technical support needed to use them. Cyber Security: The security of data and communications systems continues to be a critical risk exposure for government, public organizations, private sector businesses, and for individuals that is widely unrecognized and under managed. Oregon needs to follow- through on its 2017 cyber security initiatives www.cyberoregon.com. Ongoing, expanded and pro-active cyber risk management is needed. 3 Education: Oregon’s K-20 educational institutions are positioned to realize significant economic, work force and community development benefits for the state through the utilization of broadband networks and applications. State level support and coordination is needed. Public Safety: Oregon’s first responders are at a transition point for migration to new broadband Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. Support is needed for Oregon’s 911 centers and first responders to migrate from legacy systems to Next Generation 911 and to interoperable wireless broadband communications systems. Agriculture, which contributes more than $8.25 billion to Oregon’s economy each year, is emerging as an important application and will become the largest driver for broadband infrastructure deployment in rural areas of the state. Local Community Broadband Planning: Local community engagement in broadband development, adoption and utilization continues to be a high-return “game-changing” activity to be promoted and supported. Federal Funding Programs: Federal broadband programs are currently in flux but remain a key source of available financing to be leveraged for new infrastructure. Network Interconnection: Oregon needs to develop near-term strategies to improve the state’s connectivity to national and global networks and support the growth of network enabled datacenters and e-commerce businesses. To address these challenges, OBAC offers the following recommendations Create a dedicated state government broadband office. Provide state funding for new grant, loan and loan guarantee programs for broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, and for matching funds to leverage federal funding programs. Repurpose and redesign the Oregon Universal Service Fund to be sustainable and to improve and subsidize broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas. Provide support to low adoption populations and community anchor institutions, e.g., the FCC’s E-rate Program, Healthcare Connect Fund and Lifeline programs. Promote broadband infrastructure deployment. Require that broadband infrastructure components such as conduit be included for all state funded infrastructure programs including roads, bridges, water, and wastewater projects. Remain technology and provider neutral. Broadband is essential infrastructure for Oregon, its businesses, government, schools, libraries, utilities, healthcare providers, first responders and families. 4 Infrastructure Trends and Technologies Industry Structure Oregon is served by a mix of franchised telephone companies, cable companies, competitive access providers, fixed and mobile wireless companies, satellite service providers and publicly owned municipal and consortia telecommunications networks. These providers are represented by associations including the Telecommunications Association of Oregon www.ota-telecom.org, the Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association www.oregoncable.com, and the Northwest Telecommunications Association http://nwta.biz/. Wireline Fiber, copper and cable networks supported 77% of fixed subscribers worldwide at the end of last year, according to global fixed broadband statistics compiled by Point Topic, which found that more than half of people get their broadband over fixed wireline networks in more than 40 countries. 87% of the broadband subscribers in the United States get their broadband over fixed wireline networks. The fiber and fiber/copper systems include Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), Fiber- to-the-Building (FTTB), Fiber-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC), Very High Bitrate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL), VDSL2, legacy twisted pair copper, coaxial cable and G-fast (a technology that enhances the performance of legacy twisted pair copper). A second generation of G-fast is being promoted as enabling operators to deliver Gigabit speeds to their customers over twisted-pair copper facilities. AT&T, Frontier, and CenturyLink are using the technology to serve customers in multiple dwelling units like apartment buildings. http://www.telecompetitor.com/broadband-forum-citing-global-fixed-broadband-statistics-fiber- now-underlies-77-of-all-connections/ Voice Telephone Service The traditional franchised telephone companies continue to be key service providers though their market share continues to decline. The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau issued its Voice Telephone Services Report on February 7, 2018, which summarizes the information