So, What's Next Then?

Second, a number of choices for engagement in metropolitan broadband loom before those city leaders newly interested in connectivity infrastructure. Sure, the Public Private Partnership model may have been the Model Du Jour, as long as cities thought they could get a great deal from service providers. And while many projects will not let go of that hope too quickly, the smart city leaders are already moving on and considering their alternatives.

Medium-sized ciites have realized they need a full-boat of engaged parties to attract a private partner - they may just take all those agitated and excited anchor tenant parties down a different path, into a new and different business model discussion, like say, a city-owned network - a bond issue or a grant proposal is not out of the question with sufficient community support. Other cities will no doubt strike up a dialogue with their incumbent broadband service providers, challenging them to expand their purview and vision for their particular service territory, based on all this newfound interest. And some of those discussions will bear fruit.

Third, wireless broadband applications are getting almost as much attention these days as the wireless broadband network technology itself. As the market matures and general understanding of Wi Fi mesh and WiMAX gains ground, city leaders shift their attention to the business case and the applications that will run on the networks. This is a rich area that is bound to see much more attention during the remainder of this year.

And finally, another big player may just come along to partner with these big cities who have active plans for metropolitan broadband. There are a limited number of attractive markets in the US and we are falling further behind in broadband penetration. And, watch for some medium-sized players to get more active with the smaller cities. I'm not convinced that the Public Private Partnership model is dead, just because EarthLink took a breather.

So, if just these four trends play out as described above, will we view the impact of EarthLink's announcement with a positive or negative spin after six months? Is it so bad if motivated cities maintain their momentum and take control of their destiny, engaging their communities in a healthy strategic discussion? If new business models emerge and gain press attention? If new, exciting wireless broadband applications stimulate new dialogue about the impacts of anytime, anywhere broadband networks? What is the true potential of public and private sector joint innovation? This is a national discussion on the future of broadband in the US that has been needed for quite some time, after all. So let's keep on talking!

There's much more to come, but like EarthLink, I need to take a short break right now and go check on my hamburgers, smoking out on the grill. It is Saturday evening, after all, and burnt hamburgers for the Cooper clan, while not as significant as a corporate catastrophe, are certainly a more immediate and personal risk for me!