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
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