Digital Cities: National League of Cities

Cities are coming up to speed quickly, but many cities are still very new to this field. It will be up to local officials to push for design and implementation of these networks. In terms of public v. private, Ms. Reece suggested that a better perspective for cities to consider is Public Private Partnerships. Some states, 14 of them, have limits on what public entities can do. That includes Texas, which dodged the bullet back in May last year, but still has constraints on the books.

The debate has shifted to the US Congress now, and congressmen are looking at the franchise issue. Texas passed a law for a state-wide franchise approach, and nation-wide franchise is being pursued by large private sector vendors, with the argument that avoiding franchise agreements with 18,000 cities will speed things up. It's important that local control of local land be maintained - its expensive real estate, estimated to be worth $7.8 Trillion in real estate value, if totaled up nationwide. Wow.

So, city officials have a dual role to play: 1) preserve the assets of the city (ROWs, Streets, etc.; and 2) ensure that cities' options remain open regarding broadband be kept open. The McCain Lautenberg bill (S 1294) remains on the agenda and is under discussion.

Why should elected officials be so interested? 1) Economic Development is an issue for cities of all sizes (Princeton, IL); 2) Higher quality of life (Loma Linda, CA); 3) Uses for core municipal services (Corpus Christi); and 4) Critical Needs during emergencies and disasters (Hurricane Katrina).

VisionGain has a Jan 26, 2006 Report that describes broadband as a city's Fifth Utility. Models to follow include 1) Public Utilities; 2) Public Private Partnerships; 3) New City Utility. Various technologies are available, wired and wireless.

Expectations of cities: affordability and dependability. Connectivity: 1) On average 45% of city employees work away from their desk - again, Wow! Mobile workers can stay in touch with these networks; 2) location-based services and GIS; 3) crime control via video surveillance. Schools and Health Care providers benefit from broadband availability. Other expectations include 911 compatibiltiy, customer service, Digital Inclusion, rural/urban parity for outlying regions, and competition (favored approach).

The Call to Action for elected officials is to become an educator - work on the rest of your elected officials, urge Congressional support for the NLC positions above, and involve both public and private partners. What's more: 1) Draft a Technology Master Plan - shows your level of seriousness about these issues; and 2) Prepare for open infrastructure and diverse systems - keep your head in the game regarding Last Mile access for your citizens and make provisions for requiring conduit to the home and ultimate municipal ownership of conduit to the home - if the city owns the conduit, that will keep the opportunity for various users to have access to the home.

It's a dynamic time: Ms. Reece detailed the state of municpal broadband projects from her perspective. Lots of activity and experimentation. Get out there and get busy is Ms. Reece's message. Exciting Times.

Finally, the issue of Texas regulations came up and it was clarified that there is no regulatory or statutory proscription for cities to lauch these networks, and the issue of grandfathering came up. Clearly, if a law is passed in the future, a grandfather perspective would protect those early birds who put a network in this year. So, Get Busy is the clear message of the day.