Volume 3 | Issue 11 | November 2018
To sign up for BroadbandUSA’s newsletter, email broadbandusa@ntia.doc.gov

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Transforming Rural Healthcare through Broadband

This month’s webinar on healthcare (see details below) will feature representatives from two pioneers in rural health.

The creation of the Mississippi Center for Emergency Services (Center) was motivated from the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina in 2004. The University of Mississippi Medical Center established the Center in 2014 to expand Mississippi’s ability to maintain medical communications for disaster and emergency preparedness and response. Just last month, the University created a centralized home for the Center. The new facility includes enhanced broadband capabilities and will support training and policy development around mobile telemedicine.

Also last month, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) established an emergency medical services stroke telemedicine pilot study through its project called Arkansas Stroke Assistance through Virtual Emergency Support (AR SAVES). UAMS installed telemedicine equipment in a ProMed Advanced Life Support (ALS) Ambulance to provide live, mobile video consults with a stroke neurologist. The program will use a high-speed video communications system to connect vascular neurologists to rural emergency departments statewide to provide immediate, life-saving treatments to stroke patients 24 hours a day.

Learn more about how broadband connectivity is transforming telecare at this month’s webinar.

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Broadband News and Updates

Federal News

• NTIA seeks comment on broadband data collection

• FCC leaders say we need a 'national mission' to fix rural broadband

• Treasury Releases Proposed Regulations on Opportunity Zones Designed to Incentivize Investment in American Communities

• Now Live: Connect America Fund Broadband Map

State News

• Arkansas: Arkansas Public Schools Leads in Broadband

• Delaware: Delaware Recognized for 100% School Connectivity

• Georgia: Georgia Tackles Broadband Expansion And Local Control

• Illinois: Rural Broadband Getting Some Attention from State Leaders

• Indiana: Higher Tolls Good Trade for Better Roads, Broadband

• Iowa: Rural Broadband, and the Unknown Costs of the Digital Divide and Iowa: Rural broadband, and the unknown costs of the digital divide

• Kansas: Kansas Delegation Takes Issue with FCC Broadband Funding

• Maine: Rural Maine Communities Taking Lack of Broadband into Their Own Hands

• Missouri: High-speed Internet Crucial to Attract Next-generation Missouri Farmers

• Nebraska: Nearly One in Three Rural Households Lacks Broadband Internet and the Center for Rural Affairs “Map to Prosperity”

• Ohio: New Markets Tax Credits Expands Broadband in Appalachian Ohio

• Oregon: Oregon State University helps lead project to bring faster broadband to Oregon

• Tennessee: We Hear a Lot About Rural Broadband. What is Tennessee Actually Doing?

• West Virginia: Free Right of Way Access Aims to Boost Broadband Deployment in WV

Tribal News

• Broadband Access Lags on Tribal Lands, GAO Study Finds

• Northwest Native Leaders Talk About Their Own Broadband Struggles

Local News

• Wichita, Kan., Ponders Free Wi-Fi for Underserved Neighborhoods

• Cities are planning to sue the Federal Communications Commission over its decision to preempt local rules on deployment of 5G wireless equipment

Public Safety/FirstNet

• FirstNet Momentum: More Than 3,600 Public Safety Agencies Subscribed

• Edward Parkinson Named Acting Chief Executive Officer of First Responder Network Authority

Smart Community and 5G News

• The 2019 Smart Cities Council Readiness Challenge

• Tampere, Finland shares recipes for smart city success

• ITS Director Keith Gremban on 5G Propagation

• AT&T Claims Completion of World's 'First' 5G Connection

Resources

• Education Superhighway: We have made tremendous progress connecting our students: 2018 State of the States Pew Charitable Trust: Congress, More Than a Dozen States Consider Legislation to Expand Broadband Access Voice of America: Rural Americans Struggle with Poor Broadband Access

• National Grange: Why Rural Broadband and Online Privacy Go ‘Hand in Hand’

• National Association of Regional Councils: Connecting the Region: Planning to Fulfill your Regional Broadband Vision (video)

• CoBank: Broadband Partnerships: A Key to High-Speed Success for Rural Electric Co-ops

General News

• Why Rural Areas Can't Catch a Break on Speedy Broadband

• In Farm Country, Forget Broadband. You Might Not Have Internet at All

• Where artificial intelligence could take agriculture

• Smartphone-only internet users grow from 12% in 2016 to 20% this year

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BroadbandUSA Spotlight

Blog: Five Digital Inclusion Trends in the United States

Digital inclusion is more than a social program giving people access to computing and information technology; it is now an economic imperative in every community. The availability of robust Internet access is integral to a community’s ability to thrive socially and economically. Better connected towns, cities and states attract technology-based investment, encourage more innovation, streamline supply chains, and broaden opportunities for individuals and businesses. We see policy and economic initiatives at the federal, state and local level around well-structured planning, program integration, library modernization, and performance measurement. Underlying these trends is the drive to streamline regulation and create the incentive for broadband infrastructure investment.

• Digital Inclusion Planning.

• Program Integration

• Library Modernization

• Performance Measurement

• Leveraging Assets

In summary, the trends are clear. Closing the digital divide and laying the foundation for digital inclusion starts with clearly articulated objectives and plans, which rely upon adequate staffing and funding to achieve success.See the complete blog here.

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Events

NTIA Events

November 14, 2018
BroadbandUSA Practical Broadband Conversations Webinar Series: Broadband Connectivity is Transforming Healthcare
Broadband connectivity is critical for many reasons, including access to quality healthcare. From remote patient monitoring to mobile health applications accessed via smartphones, tablets, or other devices, advances in telemedicine and telehealth technologies have affected patient care and health outcomes far away from hospitals and doctors’ offices. Connected-care services significantly reduce economic and administrative costs for patients and health care providers. This webinar will explore innovations in telehealth and telemedicine applications and programs that two leading universities have developed to improve patient health in their states, especially in rural and remote areas. Our scheduled speakers include:

• Damon A. Darsey, MD, FACEP; Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine & Pediatrics; Medical Director; Mississippi Center for Emergency Services

• Tina Benton, RN, BSN; Program Director, ANGELS; Oversight Director, Center for Distance Health; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; UAMS, College of Medicine

• Roy Kitchen, M.S.; Arkansas e-Link Network Director; Business Administrator, Center for Distance Health; USAC Project Coordinator; UAMS, College of Medicine

• Curtis Lowery, M.D.; Maternal-Fetal Medicine; Professor and Chair; ANGELS Medical Director; (Antenatal & Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System); The Center for Distance Health; Executive Director; SARA Professor and Principal Investigator; (Squid Array for Reproductive Assessment)

Click here to register

Events of Interest

November 4-7, 2018
NECA - The National Exchange Carrier Association Expo 2018, New Orleans, LA. Telephone companies from across the United States and its territories attend EXPO to visit with vendors in the telecommunications, cable, internet, and IPTV business.

November 5-7, 2018
Telephone Association of New England (TANE), Bretton Woods, NH. Meeting brings in industry leaders and experts who will share their view of the economy of our area, politics, customer needs, and of course regulation.

November 5-8, 2018
19th Annual TribalNet Conference and Tradeshow, Las Vegas, NV. TribalNet is the largest gathering of technology decision makers, leaders/executives AND technology vendors working in the Native American industry.

November 7-10, 2018
National League of Cities (NLC) Annual Conference City Summit, Los Angeles, CA. City Summit is the NLC’s conference for local leaders to convene and collaborate on solutions to the common challenges facing America’s cities. BroadbandUSA staff Katherine Bates and Karen Hanson are speaking during the conference.

November 8, 2018
Connected New England: Local Solutions for Broadband Development, Hartford, CT. Conference will focus on local Solutions for broadband development. Event is hosted by Next Century Cities in partnership with the State of Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel.

November 8-9, 2018
South Carolina Telecom and Broadband Association, Columbia, SC

November 11-14, 2018
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Conference (NARUC), Orlando, FL. The Conference will convene state and national utility regulators, federal and state policymakers, industry representatives, consumer advocates, informed experts, and other engaged stakeholders and will cover a range of issues across the energy, telecommunications, water, and cybersecurity sectors.

November 12-13, 2018
DC 5G 2018 Conference: The Path of Commercialization, Washington, DC. Meeting will feature 5G trailblazers, explore 5G opportunities, and offer networking with the entire ecosystem of professionals tied to the success of 5G.

November 27-29, 2018
Montana Telecommunications Association (MTA) Annual Showcase, Billings, MT. MTA provides public policy advocacy and consultation, communications, training and education, trade shows and related services to independent rural telecommunications service providers throughout Montana.

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Policy Corner

The Internet Technological Evolution and the Role and Impact of ICANN

On October 22, 2018 David Redl, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator, spoke at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN 63 in Barcelona, Spain. Here are a few highlights of his prepared remarks.

“I would like to talk about how the United States sees the future of the Internet. For us, it all starts with security. To put it simply, if the Internet is to continue to grow and thrive around the world, users need to be able to trust that the devices and networks they use will be secure. Technology is becoming more complex and more integrated into our daily lives, and that raises the stakes for the work that we do to ensure that building in security measures is priority No. 1 for all Internet-related companies. Security will also be a major factor in the expansion of the Internet in the developing world. Increases in connectivity, technology and digital commerce shouldn't mean that you have to accept greatly increased risks. That would only incentivize staying in the 20th century. Our digital inclusion work in the developing world will be an essential test of our ability to establish trust in networks and technology." See the complete remarks here.