It Takes a Mobile Village to Raise a Mobile Child:

Strategies for Improving Mobile Learning through Improved Mobile Broadband

It also takes…

…a city, county, state, school district, library and community to raise a mobile child!

Governments can make a difference in a child’s ability to learn through mobile devices regardless of where they grow up.

Especially with cellular connectivity!

When wireless is impaired…

Colorado College is located in a cellular impaired area impacting learning, safety and communications.

Students must wait for information to load and this impacts their ability to remain engaged and enthusiastic

When wireless doesn’t work…

Businesses can’t operate… Revenue is impacted ... Taxes are impacted

When wireless deteriorates…

Public safety can’t communicate during disasters

Data from Colorado Black Forest Fire June 2013

Download Speeds Across US

Average speed is not only important metric to watch

Connection Failures Across US

Consider connection problems too

Inequity of Different Coverage

VerizonAT&T

Alternative High School in Rural Colorado

Will the “market” fix rural dead zones?

Time to Incentivize Improvement

Gov’ts should create incentive strategies now to improve mobile wireless• Solicit community input on state broadband wireless

testing results to determine level of interest to improve

• All levels of government should create a mobile wireless strategy by end of 2015 that uses a combination of the above strategies to improve mobile wireless in their community

Large organizations issue RFP for cellular service- contracts require improved service

• Lots of organizations issue RFP to improve purchasing power for contract

• School districts could contract with cellular provider for mobile devices everywhere instead of managing own WIFI in schools

Contractual

Examples of Incentive Options

Community Request For Proposal to improve service in a specific area

• Example is Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties in Colorado

Community RFP

Offer free or reduced rent for mobile wireless in underserved areas for ten years

• Governments own lots of right of way and sites for cellular antennas

• Carrier cost models struggle to find economic benefit of building in rural areas so need to find incentives to change the model

Economic Incentives

Potential Incentives

Continue current SBI grant program with focus on administering grants for underserved mobile wireless areas

• People, process, grants already in place

• SBI program studies coverage so now ready to fix the problem areas

Grant Incentives

Local gov’ts focus on improving zoning and site approval process

• Talk to community and get input on tower locations early

• Pre-approve locations and designs

• Gov’ts could temporarily shift 20% of the effort and funding of economic development into attracting wireless

Streamline Regulatory Process

Potential Incentives

States Work with FCC on Regulatory Requirement

• Cable franchises worked in the past to require coverage

• Focus on 911 call capability because of the life safety implications

Regulatory Requirement

FirstNet provides states an opportunity to achieve better wireless (if plan for it)

• FirstNet will be adding infrastructure, especially in rural areas where commercial doesn’t exist

• Use this as an opportunity to encourage commercial carriers to expand coverage

FirstNet Partnership

Potential Incentives

Government partnership with companies in private sector to create mobile wireless strategic plans, manage incentives and market gov’t right of way locations to carriers

• Multiple cities, counties, and/or states could partner together to make solution even more marketable

Public/Private Partnership

Examples of Public Private Partnership

• City of Miami• State of New York• State of Pennsylvania• Colorado Department of Transportation

– Details to follow

Highway 6 example in Colorado

Colorado Dept Transportation partnered with Crown Castle to use state right of way to fix rural road in rugged canyon with

terrible cellular service.

Connection Map Before (blue = bad)

Mobile Pulse map showing terrible connectivity along highway 6 before the solution is implemented

Connection Map After (green = good)

Mobile Pulse map showing great connectivity along highway 6 after Crown Castle builds distributed antenna system

Summary

• Mobile wireless is always changing: continually monitor performance for accurate, real-world results

• The market won’t solve all wireless problems• No better time than now for gov’ts to develop mobile

wireless improvement plans• Mobile villages (and all levels of government) have

power to incentivize change• Create strategies using a combination of incentive

options and public-private partnerships

Contact

Kevin Capp, VP of Government SolutionsMobile Pulse, Inc 303.351.1396Kevin.capp@mobilepulse.comwww.mobilepulse.com