I wonder how many industry experts foresaw the cascading events that were set in motion when the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) released the national broadband ranking report in 2007. The report showed that the US had slipped to 15th globally in broadband penetration, down from as high as 4th in 2001. As events unfolded, I saw parallels between what was occurring in the public arena and those observed during decades of working in the telecommunications industry. During those years, I saw telecommunications companies, fearful of losing customers and market share, react dramatically when threatened by a competitive intruder. The response was to quantify the threat and allocate resources to fund new product launches and stimulate services demand.

In 2007, policy makers were concerned that low broadband penetration made the US  vulnerable to losing its competitive edge in a world where global connections and broadband access are now key components of economic development. As a result, Congress passed the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA) in October 2008, which required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assess the US broadband service capability and develop a detailed report comparing it to other developed countries. The BDIA provided the direction, but funds were not authorized until passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  The ARRA provided $7.2B for two major programs: broadband mapping ($350M) and projects to improve broadband access in underserved and unserved areas ($6.9B).

Figure 1. Unserved Areas

The plan’s logic was sound—assess the needs and fund projects that address them. However, problems emerged when companies began to propose projects. The most common comment I heard from service providers, contractors, and policy makers was that ARRA broadband mapping and project funding should have been executed sequentially, not concurrently. Until the mapping was completed, how could anyone determine whether an area was underserved, unserved, or had adequate broadband coverage? Would proposed projects expand into new areas or overbuild existing areas? This was a challenge not only for applicants, but also the approving authorities.

Figure 2. Wireless Cell Sites

I observed a similar dilemma in telecommunications companies allocating capital resources for network upgrades. Many lacked a complete understanding of asset locations, service capabilities, and capacities. It’s not that they did not have records, but rather that the records were hard to access or not up to date. As a result, network projects often exceed capital budgets and miss revenue targets. The solution to these shortcomings is an intelligent location-aware system—a geographic information system (GIS)—that provides access to company data on assets, capabilities, and capacities. Existing infrastructure can be analyzed and expansion plans mapped according to planners’ needs.

GIS technology is a clear solution to the broadband conundrum as well. Using broadband service data, GIS can clearly identify current coverage areas and service availability. Already, several states have published broadband coverage maps based on a GIS platform. 

GIS is an integrated system of hardware, software and data that collects, organizes, and permits analysis of spatial data. GIS based broadband mapping solutions provide an arsenal of analytical capabilities as well as the powerful understanding afforded by visualizing information. With the ability to incorporate company data with demographics and marketing data, it can analyze potential demand for broadband services. Understanding these market characteristics is critical to determining whether a project will deliver an acceptable ROI.

GIS for Data Management
GIS addresses common organizational business needs and challenges by integrating location into existing workflows. GIS implementations provide features and functionality required for secure data management, analysis and planning, field mobility, visualization, and dissemination. Using location as the basis for all these functions enables data to be transformed into localized actionable intelligence that can then be used for decision making and policy execution. GIS modeling and analysis tools enable organizations to align their workflows and processes to achieve business goals.

Figure 3. Average Household Income

Data management tools allow storage and management of various datasets for initial and ongoing broadband mapping requirements. Organizations can centralize and standardize data and provide access to a diverse user base through server-based GIS software. These data management capabilities are crucial because successful broadband mapping applications need to bring together data from many different service providers as well as other government and private entities. They also bring a standard process to the task of updating datasets. These advantages enable broadband mapping solutions to move beyond static maps and deliver dynamic solutions that serve citizens, government, and commercial entities into the future.

GIS for Planning and Analysis
Planning and analysis seek to transform data into actionable intelligence. GIS provides broadband mapping solutions with the most complete functionality available to perform data analysis, modeling, geoprocessing, and visualization. These functions enable policy makers and service providers to use the broadband mapping solution to analyze and discover how factors in the community are impeding or improving broadband adoption. This information supports planning and decision making such as the need to determine which projects offer greatest return on investment or mitigate particular barriers.

Figure 4. Commercial Service Demand

The GIS platform supports initial and ongoing broadband mapping requirements. It enables data editors and analysts to implement repeatable processes, build complex repeatable models, transform data, manage historical data, perform data conversion, and produce publication-quality maps that reveal trends and patterns in underlying data.

GIS for Enhanced Awareness
The NTIA State Broadband Data and Development Program contains requirements for the collection of broadband- related data to support collaboration and broadband planning and the development of state-level broadband maps. One expected result is that broadband access will become more widely available to public and anchor tenants (such as schools, libraries, and hospitals) in unserved and underserved areas in mostly rural geographies. Web-enabled GIS gives the public access to information on broadband availability and programs to expand accessibility.

In addition, Broadband mapping and infrastructure build out projects will involve numerous state and other stakeholder staff over a multi-year timeframe. Broadband mapping solutions that utilize server-based GIS software provide those involved with shared access to information as well as customized dashboards that combine relevant information in one place. Non-technical staff will benefit from easy-to-use Web mapping capabilities that facilitate operational awareness and support planning, decision making, and other activities. This enables states to provide a common operating picture to government officials, decision makers, planners, knowledge workers, and other stakeholders. Detailed and easy access to broadband data gives these individuals a view into current and anticipated adoption trends, coverage areas, the status of ongoing projects, and more.

A Successful Broadband Mapping Program
All of the states are still in the process of collecting data and developing their broadband coverage maps. This process is expected to continue for at least three years as the data is continually refined. ESRI has partnered with Connected Nation, a nonprofit corporation and leader in promoting broadband expansion, to develop a GIS server-based solution called BroadbandStat. Although collecting broadband service information is an ongoing process, three states (Illinois [www.connectillinois.org], Ohio [www.connectohio.org], and Tennessee [www.connectedtennessee.org]) have already launched their mapping sites based on BroadbandStat. Each of these states is using a server-based platform to deliver interactive mapping solutions where citizens can obtain broadband service information. These solutions give states the ability to map information they have gathered from a variety of sources and provide a visual way to present the results for citizens and planners.

Figure 5. Tennessee Broadband Coverage

Web accessible GIS solutions give the public access to interactive maps to better inform about broadband coverage areas, service providers, and quality of service. Service providers can use the application to identify and evaluate unserved areas based on household density; government policy makers can access demographic and other data. As a public-facing application, the solution helps to fulfill government accountability and transparency requirements and can display the allocation of resources by project, grant, or geographic area. This helps citizens see how tax dollars and grant funding are being used to improve infrastructure and their opportunities and quality of life.

Thus far, 13 states and territories have chosen a broadband mapping solution that will employ BroadbandStat. To learn more about server based GIS solutions like BroadbandStat, visit www.esri.com/bbstat. 

About the author
Randy Frantz, Telecommunications and LBS Solutions Manager for ESRI, has more than 27 years of global telecommunications management experience.  For more information on ESRI and GIS based telecommunications solutions, visit www.esri.com/telecom.