Mapping Northeast Mississippi s Digital Future e-beat: Region 6 Broadband Recommendations April 24, 2012 The Region 6 Broadband Advisory Council (BAC) would like to present this document as a roadmap of recommendations for Northeast Mississippi s broadband expansion, which will provide for economic development and higher quality of life in this region of the state. Background: On Dec. 14, 2011, the Mississippi Broadband Connect Coalition (MBCC), a broadband committee chaired by Jim Barksdale for Governor Haley Barbour, released a long-term plan of recommendations, Mapping Mississippi s Digital Future. That committee began a plan of work in January 2011 forming the following eight sub-committees: Adoption, Availability, Education, Government Performance/Public Safety, Health, Workforce, Delta, and Tribal. Meanwhile, in July 2011, Mississippi State University Extension Service formed a new outreach unit, e-beat (Extension Broadband Education and Adoption Team). After dividing Mississippi into six geographic areas, the northeast 19 counties were named Region 6 and led by Charles Chip Templeton as Regional Coordinator. These six regions were created in order to better serve the needs of specific localities. Each regional coordinator was asked to form one or more Broadband Advisory Councils as soon as possible. Region 6 formed one BAC with a cross-section of leaders from many fields of expertise such as education, health care, business, economic development, agriculture, and philanthropy. In addition, all council members live within the region and know the Mississippi culture and way of life. The Region 6 BAC began meeting on a regular basis on Jan. 19, 2012, in Verona at the MSU North Mississippi Research and Extension Center. The 19 counties which comprise Region 6 include Alcorn, Benton, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Itawamba, Lee, Lowndes, Monroe, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo, Union, Webster and Winston. MBCC Executive Report Highlights: The Region 6 BAC commends former Governor Haley Barbour, Gov. Phil Bryant, Mr. Jim Barksdale and all of the outstanding people who toiled for months to complete the MBCC report, Mapping Mississippi s Digital Future (found at http://msbb.broadmap.com/strategic-plan.html). The detailed work from that 115-page document provided a large amount of useful data and time savings to prepare this Region 6 report, Mapping Northeast Mississippi s Digital Future. The Executive Summary of the MBCC report contains many important points the Region 6 BAC would like to reiterate at this time. First, broadband is high-speed Internet, with minimum capabilities of speeds on downloads of 4.0 mbps and 1.0 mbps for uploading. With broadband, the potential to greatly improve the quality of life in Northeast Mississippi is tremendous. For instance, areas such as health care, civic engagement, public safety, workforce skills training, e-commerce, governmental services and online courses can be made more effective.
An important quote to remember from the MBCC report states, Having a broadband connected citizenry in Mississippi is not just a quality of life issue, but it is an economic development issue. According to a 2009 World Bank report, for every 10-percentage point increase in high-speed Internet usage rates, there was a concurrent 1.3 percent economic growth impact. For Mississippi, this could mean more personal and corporate income leading to greater General Fund revenue for state services. The Broadband Advisory Council recognizes that like the rest of the state, Northeast Mississippi also has a digital literacy gap between those who do and those who don t have broadband Internet access. In addition, gaps exist between other factors such as location, race, age, and educational levels. In order to accomplish the economic goals, our digital literacy rate will need to be increased, which will mean, in many cases, infrastructure accessibility will need to be addressed. The MBCC report says, The rate of broadband adoption is defined as the number of citizens using high-speed broadband access to connect to and use Internet applications. The role of the Mississippi State University e-beat project is leading Phase III of the MBCC plan. This follows Phase I, the creation of the Broadband for Mississippi interactive website, and Phase II, the development of a state strategy for increasing digital literacy rates by the MBCC. Because of the large footprint of the Extension Service and its ability to implement a large portion of the recommendations, e-beat will primarily focus in increasing digital literacy rates and broadband adoption in Mississippi. Some of the major roadblocks in our region are affordability of equipment and service fees, lack of understanding of safety, and fear of identity theft, as well as subjection to obscene information. In many cases, citizens are unfamiliar with the benefits of broadband and how the technology can have a positive impact. Another common roadblock is that service providers are not able to make a business case to support many rural areas in the region. Region 6 Broadband Advisory Council Tools: The Broadband Advisory Council had a great deal of information available at the time of the first meeting in order to begin formulating recommendations for the region. Armed with the MBCC, Mapping Mississippi s Digital Future and the deletion of the Delta and Tribal areas of concern, the committee made sure the topics of Adoption, Availability, Education, Government Performance/Public Safety, Health, and Workforce were covered in the regional plan. The BAC gathered data from various sources to study and to prepare a list of recommendations. Tools Used: MSU e-beat Household Use Internet Survey results MSU e-beat Wi-Fi Hotspot Survey results data MSU e-beat Community Anchor Institution Survey results data MSU e-beat Municipality Survey results data Power Point Educational Topics: o Broadband Education and Adoption Initiative o Types of Broadband o Connecting Communities o What Are Connected Communities? Discussion with Dr. Dan Brook, e-beat technical team leader Roundtable Citizen Priority Forms MBCC, e-beat Recommendations of Priority Survey data
The e-beat team developed a format for conducting regional roundtables throughout the various regions. Citizens participating in these events were asked to give their personal rankings in High, Medium or Low scores for 16 different recommendations which best summarize the MBCC plan. Further, the citizens were asked to weigh in on other areas that were not included in the MBCC plan but they believed should have been addressed. The 16 recommendations from the survey are listed below in no particular order. Roundtable Citizen Priority Form Recommendations: Recommendation 1: Establish State Digital Literacy Corps Use existing funding sources, along with input from high school and college students, to develop a digital literacy curriculum to be offered throughout the state. Target these digital literacy training opportunities at libraries, schools, health centers, and other anchor institutions. Recommendation 2: Establish a State Computer Donation Program Cost of computers is regularly the number one reason people give for non-adoption. The Mississippi Library Commission could serve as the entry point for potential donors by providing information on qualifying computers for donation and on any possible incentives for which the donor may be eligible. Recommendation 3: Establish Broadband Marketing Program Broadband means gaining access to education, workforce, health care, and government services that are available online. Targeted marketing using public service announcements through Mississippi Public Broadcasting, social media outlets, and other pro bono advertising can help Mississippians understand the relevance of broadband. Recommendation 4: Expand Community Anchor Institutions as Public Computing Centers Local public computing centers in Mississippi can be the most effective way to provide access to population groups who currently do not access the Internet. The e-beat team should identify and map places that already serve as public computing centers or identify places that would be willing to serve as public computing centers. Recommendation 5: Support and Promote e-rate Changes that Lead to Greater Flexibility Public schools should offer the use of their computer labs as community computer centers after hours, allowing them to serve as Public Computing Centers (PCC). Additionally, e-rate changes show how to allow schools to lease dark fiber from any provider, including municipalities and educational networks. Recommendation 6: P20 Efforts Should Include Broadband and Online Learning Strategies P20 is defined as efforts to develop educational policies, goals, and regulations across early childhood education, K-12, community colleges, universities, and lifelong learning governance structures. By increasing the number of online teachers, shortages in critical areas such as physics and high-level mathematics could be addressed. This enhancement could also allow students to have dual enrollment in online college or workforce development level courses, helping them earn college credit before graduating high school.
Recommendation 7: Establish the Mississippi STEM Lecture Corps Mississippi s schools and businesses can partner to use broadband enabled applications to address its on-going teacher shortages in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) areas. Using online systems, schools in remote areas may be able to access courses in STEM areas that were previously unavailable. By utilizing broadband-based teacher certification programs, community members with backgrounds in the STEM subjects and employment in a similar field could become adjunct teachers at their local high schools. Recommendation 8: Catalog and Promote Mississippi's Multiple Online Learning Activities Mississippi has many opportunities for students and adults to take online courses to further their education, including the Mississippi Virtual Public School, Mississippi Virtual Community College, and several offerings from each state university. While all of these might provide greater access, questions of accountability and standards should be addressed and made publically available in one place. Recommendation 9: Promote Digital Literacy and e-commerce Training Resources With access to almost 500,000 public school students every day, the Mississippi Department of Education has the ability to profoundly impact their literacy rates. E-commerce should be included in the digital literacy curriculum. The state can deliver broadband education programs to local governments, businesses, and public institutions in underserved areas and expand the delivery of e-commerce education programs to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and other appropriate business enterprises in the state. Recommendation 10: Develop an Online Skills Database and Respond to the Needs of Advanced Manufacturing and Other Skill Requirements in the State Businesses need real-time solutions for their workforce needs. By providing a broadband-enabled online database for them to enter their workforce and educational training needs, state policy makers and agency heads will be better able to focus their resources in a timely manner. Recommendation 11: Catalog Online Workforce Training Opportunities The state and its community college system offer many online training and skills development programs, but they may not be well known or publicized effectively, as many rely on word of mouth and little formal advertising. A central site devoted to informing the public about these opportunities would make these programs more accessible for individuals to find the training resources that best fit their needs. Recommendation 12: Develop Support Mechanisms for Mississippi Department of Employment Security s Online WINGS and Access Mississippi Programs The Workforce Investment Network Global Services (WINGS) is an effective online workforce development certificate and degree program run by MDES and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The courses are available either as an in-person/online mix or completely online, which is more common. Mississippi can also work to improve the visibility of the MDES s online job search program called Access Mississippi. Both programs should be better promoted so Mississippians can take full advantage of these important services.
Recommendation 13: State Government Can Lead the Way in Establishing Telework Guidelines and Policies Technology in the 21st century has reengineered the way business is conducted. By leading the way, the State of Mississippi can show private businesses the benefits of teleworking. Recommendation 14: Ensure Economic Developers Promote Broadband Advantages in their Recruitment Strategies Broadband availability is as critical to regional economic developers as pipelines and incentives. Local developers now have the tools to see the level of broadband availability in their areas, and they can use that information to position their communities for economic development. Recommendation 15: Explore the Use of the Mississippi Interactive Contract by Local Municipalities and Counties and/or Develop a Template for Use by Local Municipalities and Counties' Websites Local units of government in Mississippi are on the front line of civic engagement for addressing citizens needs. Providing a core set of online services for all citizens, regardless of where they live, will drive demand and greater adoption and, ultimately, greater availability rates. To help them establish a web presence, municipalities must have a low cost and low maintenance template that can be populated with content and posted online. Communities with old and antiquated websites should be given a technical assistance primer with information on updating their sites with successful content. Recommendation 16: Align and Coordinate Support Applications using Co-Location Opportunities Mississippians eligible for state and federal support services currently have to navigate a disconnected system of offices to get the temporary assistance they need. Having a single point of contact for qualifying citizens would not only save them the costs of transportation and time spent filling out applications, but it would save the state money while delivering services to its intended recipients in a more effective manner.
Region 6 BAC Recommendations: Figure 1. MBCC, e-beat Recommendation of Priority Survey Recommendations Region 6 Survey Results (n=28) Figure 2. Core Recommendations for Northeast Mississippi Region Develop, promote, and provide digital literacy educational programs Inventory, map, and expand community anchor institutions as public computing centers where feasible Facilitate communities and/or organizations forming partnerships to aggregate demand for broadband Assist with promoting initiatives that are designed to help cover service costs Hold a minimum of 3 community forums in each region to gather input and feedback to the MBCC recommendations Educate local economic developers on the importance of promoting broadband advantages in their recruitment strategies Provide Health IT related digital literacy in partnership with local hospitals/clinics to increase awareness of online health tools 1.86 1.85 1.81 1.81 1.72 1.70 1.69 Assist with identifying businesses in each region willing to donate computers to a state computer donation program Develop and promote a website template to be used by local counties and municipalities 1.42 1.50 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80 2.00 Cluster A Priorities Cluster B Priorities Cluster C Priorities
Ideally, the Broadband Advisory Council would have chosen a top 3 ranking of priorities, but due to the fact the data scores reflect a natural clustering effect, we have chosen this format. The Council believes that, even though the choice of Provide Health IT related digital literacy in partnership with local hospitals/clinic to increase awareness of online health tools is in Cluster B, this topic should be given a higher priority. As these priorities are placed into action, we recommend the process of problem identification, implementation, and follow-up whenever possible. Other Recommendations: The MBCC plan, Mapping Mississippi s Digital Future, should be the foundational document used when and wherever possible within Region 6. Use the Roundtable Citizen Priority Form as a quick reference and blueprint to the overall goals to be achieved. The Regional Coordinator has advised the Broadband Advisory Council that e-beat is finalizing plans to provide on-going education and training relationships with organizations. While the organizations are yet to be made public, topics include the fields of Workforce Development, Libraries, and Website Development for Cities/Counties/Government. These coincide with many of the identified priorities, and we recommend these actions with other areas of service when opportunities arise. The Regional Coordinator should continue to identify communities, neighborhoods, individuals, and businesses that need assistance with infrastructure. The Regional Coordinator should be active in all the counties and communities; provide advice, presentations and workshops to promote goodwill; and help facilitate adoption of and access to Broadband. The Council recommends our region be mindful of the large gap between the percentage of citizens who have Broadband and those that do not. Our region will benefit the most when everyone can participate. An e-beat website has been developed since the Broadband Advisory Committee began meeting, so as a final recommendation, we suggest the use and promotion of the website as a benefit for the public, businesses, and government. The URL is http://srdc.msstate.edu/ebeat/. Various Digital Literacy topics, which can provide education for a better understanding of what Broadband offers, are available at no charge to citizens, groups, businesses or governmental agencies.