Empowering Rural America - A New Model Emerges

Sustaining economic recovery through broadband coupled with workforce development, collaborative entrepreneurship and innovation.

Entrepreneurship and social innovation abound in Franklin County, Virginia where local government is utilizing a successful wireless broadband strategy as a catalyst to release the trapped potential and empower the latent talent that resides within marginalized populations throughout rural America.

The plan includes a rural-focused sustainability strategy for the diverse education, training and employment initiatives made possible by funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The plan also incorporates an integrated online forum for students engaged in STEM, Service Science and entrepreneurship education, along with career exploration, workforce and small business development components. They collectively represent innovative and socially-conscious elements of a national broadband deployment plan and are available for FCC consideration.

The effort represents a comprehensive rural response to the sentiment recently expressed by the new FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, who stated, "If I could say one thing that I'd like to make sure the FCC does, it would be to unleash the power of innovators and entrepreneurs in the United States."

In 2005, the local government of Franklin County set out to increase connectivity and provide broadband options to its citizens and businesses. Under the leadership of Sandie Terry, the Director of Information Technology for Franklin County, the process resulted in the expansion of Franklin County's wide-area network, which now connects all remote offices, supporting data sharing and communications. The broadened connectivity is providing cost reductions and improved efficiencies, and Franklin has been successful in leveraging local assets while limiting their financial liability. The County now has 24 facilities connected via the wireless mesh, including the County's data center.

The County has expanded broadband services throughout the 721 square mile area for a total investment of $83,000 from the general fund and a $50,000.00 federal grant because the County connected fire and rescue stations. The deployment model was awarded Virginia's 2008 "Technology Award of Excellence".

The project included the establishment of a public/private partnership between Franklin County local government and B2X Online, a start-up wireless Internet service provider (WISP), which, in fact, was the only respondent to a County RFP. Motorola contributed greatly to the deployment strategy. From the very beginning, civic, business and social entrepreneurship were present in the endeavor, which captures the essence of rural entrepreneurship. B2X Online has grown from 2 to 21 employees in two years, but the broader socioeconomic implications are the heart of the story.

Fostering Entrepreneurship

As a by-product of the Franklin County project, a replicable public/private WISP small business model has been developed that includes the diverse technology, social and civic applications and funding strategies required to mobilize in any rural location. Deployment options include the capability to roll-out using combinations of unlicensed and 2.5 and 3.65 licensed spectrum. The rural WISP model incorporates consumer and business demand aggregation strategies, which include entrepreneurship education, service learning and youth entrepreneurship activities. They assist in creating the public awareness required to invite, justify and ultimately obtain the public, private and philanthropic capital required to advance the business model.

The model, which is being advanced under the national brand Sectorforce, positions rural technology deployment as a series of aligned products and transforms them into an efficient, socially-conscious, large-scale and sustainable broadband service and delivery system. The existing "system", as represented by B2X Online and other WISP service offerings, provides traditional services, including triple-play, but is also capable of delivering social, civic and environmental solutions that can be easily mobilized to transform public service systems into massive agents of improved economic opportunity for underprivileged, underserved and unserved citizens, businesses and communities across rural America and throughout the nation.

Working in partnership with the WISP, community anchors assume enhanced leadership positions in asset-based community economic development.