Biggest Broadband Booster: Michigan- How tech-friendly is your state rate?

TechNet ranks states to encourage tech-friendly policies.

Michigan is the U.S. state with the friendliest policies for broadband Internet deployment, says Technology Network, or TechNet, a national network of more than 200 technology executives.

Grant Gross, IDG News Service PCWorld.com

TechNet cites Michigan in its State Broadband Index http://www.technet.org/resources/State_Broadband_Index.pdf for several broadband-boosting efforts. The state has created a Broadband Development Authority, which provides loans to broadband providers, and passed a law that eliminated right-of-way disparities for laying broadband lines. Right-of-way issues include the permits necessary for laying new broadband lines, such as fiber-optic cable.
Tech Promotions

A standardized and quick right-of-way permitting process is the best step states can take to promote broadband adoption, says Rick White, president and chief executive officer of TechNet.

Broadband-friendly policies are important because the United States currently ranks sixth in the world in broadband access, White adds. Only six out of 100 U.S. residents have high-speed Internet, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

A recent AeA study indicates that broadband adoption, while still growing, is not occurring as rapidly as in past years. The electronics organization partly blames cost.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm also notes that the state on Wednesday announced an initiative to put a laptop on the desk of every sixth-grader in the state. Michigan’s goal is to support the needs of both its citizens and high-tech industries such as automobile manufacturing, she says.

"In Michigan, our broadband efforts are about making sure that Michigan businesses and consumers can move at the speed of technology," Granholm said at an announcement of the TechNet rankings. "That is what our broadband effort is fundamentally all about–which is making Michigan a plug-and-play state in order to attract digital-age businesses."

Following Michigan in TechNet’s list were, in descending order, Florida, Missouri, Texas, Ohio, Washington, Kansas, Virginia, Colorado, and Iowa. California, home to Silicon Valley, was ranked 14th. TechNet only ranked as low as number 25.
Action Urged

TechNet members praise the top states for mostly staying out of the way of broadband deployment, although the group also asked for state action to spur broadband. Those are among the criteria TechNet considered in its rankings.

"We’ve called on the states to develop a strategy and plan that ensures a coordinated commitment to broadband," says Eric Benhamou, chair of 3Com and Palm. "TechNet members believe that the private sector should be the primary driver of investments in next-generation networks."

TechNet has a goal of 100 million households having 100-megabit broadband connections by the year 2010. State policies can help accomplish that goal by providing financial incentives for companies to serve neglected regions, adopting state broadband strategies, and mapping the infrastructure available in each state, TechNet members say.

Although the U.S. government regulates broadband on some levels, the actions states take can have a large impact on broadband rollout, says Pat Gelsinger, Intel chief technology officer.

"The state can have an enormous impact in broadband development and deployment," he says. The report "establishes a set of policies that can be embraced and deployed by all 50 states."

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