Create and support a community broadband task force

When communities begin to seriously discuss improved broadband infrastructure and services, the most common first step is to recruit and appoint a task force of stakeholders to advise policymakers on options.

Most task forces have a dozen or so members, though some teams have 20 or more members. The task force should include:

• Recognized leaders whose opinions carry weight in the community
• Diverse membership from various sectors and community groups
• Some technology experts
• Both supporters and skeptics

The task force must have logistical and administrative support from a sponsoring organization and a plan to develop a set of recommendations with a reporting deadline. This handbook provides a description of activities for the task force to consider. There is a wealth of community broadband planning toolkits—this handbook has a unique focus on publicly owned networks. A list of these resources is included in the Resources and Links section of this handbook.

Gather and share critical information

Community surveys are critical to measure service satisfaction levels and gather data on service quality, broadband speeds, and customer interest, by location, in improved service offerings. The results can be used to inform the opinions of two important audiences necessary to move the community forward toward a decision to proceed on a broadband initiative of any form: community residents and elected officials. The survey data, at both the address and community levels, can be built into the business case and/or grant applications for the community or any prospective ISPs. Survey data at the address level create a more streamlined and targeted sales cycle for ISPs seeking new customer commitments. Gathering and reviewing customer bills is another informative tactic.

Community meetings are essential to both gather information and share project progress. Leaders can respond to questions and begin to identify and respond to objections. These meetings are also an opportunity to identify and recruit additional community champions from the general citizenry, such as technologists, tele-workers, and home-based entrepreneurs. Sector focus groups—businesses, older adults, health care providers, public safety officials, families with children—can also be used to generate market information.

Provider interviews help to build relations with the current and prospective provider communities. Initial meetings can be informal and used to collect information about existing provider services, planned improvements, and how your community is viewed as a potential market by new providers. These meetings can be a first step to developing relationships that can lead to a project partnership. Meeting with incumbent providers can be productive to spur infrastructure and service improvements. At a minimum, these meetings can provide cover from political objections by incumbent providers. Adopting a community broadband vision in advance of provider meetings is a way to ensure that broadband providers understand community expectations.

Set a vision, goals, and desired outcomes

Take time to develop a community consensus on vision, goals, and desired outcomes. Communities need to have consensus on technologies, timelines, and roles. Keep in mind the adages “Go slow to go fast” and “Making progress at the speed of trust.”

Holding these initial discussions early in the process can help team members understand other members’ perspectives and can broaden each member’s concept of the importance of broadband. Teams will want to revisit and update these statements based on new knowledge and emerging partnership opportunities.

Conduct feasibility and market studies

A feasibility study is an essential business planning tool that combines multiple study elements into a comprehensive analysis. The feasibility study will not provide a “yes” or “no” answer, but instead a “how” to make a project financially and technically feasible while meeting community goals. The feasibility study should be viewed as a decision-making funnel where a consultant is gathering information, including that noted above, and providing implementation options. An independent third-party feasibility study provides reliable information to facilitate successful negotiations with potential broadband provider partners, construction firms, and suppliers.

The market study focuses on the total community demand for better access to broadband, combining the community survey data noted above (this can be conducted independently or as part of the feasibility study), competitive market analysis including incumbent service offerings and pricing, community demographics, and market opportunities with major customers/anchor institutions and residents.

Prepare engineering and cost estimates

The feasibility consultant will evaluate technology alternatives considering community vision, population densities, and terrain analysis. The consultant will provide a high-level engineering plan that includes cost estimates for the entire network, including middle- and last-mile fiber deployment and all electronics—at the central office, in the field, and at customer locations.

Create a financing plan

The financing plan needs to include consideration of both capital and operating costs. Capital costs are somewhat more easily and predictably financed through some combination of bonding and/or grants. Reducing bonding requirements by increasing grants is a preferred path, though many communities considering public networks may already be considered “served” by state and federal agencies, thus reducing grant availability. An increase or decrease in interest rates has a powerful impact on the financing plan and pro forma. Many states have rules restricting how a public entity can use reserve funds to make grants or loans to affiliated entities such as a new broadband public entity.

Operating funds, especially in the early years, are critical to financial sustainability. Operating costs include hiring and training people, occupancy costs for equipment and people, maintenance, and operations. Starting an ISP is resource intensive—installers, customer service representatives, technical consultants, billing systems, and more.

Construct financial pro forma models

A feasibility consultant will construct dynamic financial models that allow detailed analysis of various implementation choices. The consultant can adjust the take rate, pricing, geographic reach of the network, various expenses, technology choices, capital costs factoring in construction costs, interest rates, and grants and/or subsidies. A financial pro forma may extend out to 10 years or longer as the network operator switches from construction/start-up to operations and technology upgrades. The pro forma highlights areas of risk so that the community fully understands the impacts of construction overruns, time delays, interest rates, incumbent provider competitive response, and other factors.

Project planners need to ensure that sufficient reserves exist to pay both bonds and operating costs in the early, start-up phase of a network. The rapid growth of a network may increase the financial stress on a network plan due to higher-than-anticipated costs for customer home equipment and installation. It should be anticipated that it will take several years before a new network would be able to be cash positive—that is, have the ability to pay off both debts and all operating costs.