Arizona is on the leading
edge of the broadband
revolution
the national broadband plan has established two major goals for the states... and funds have been allocated
to accomplish these goals
FIRST: Develop an accurate picture of the Broadband resources that actually exist (including availability and performance)
The National Broadband Plan requires that states work closely with Broadband service providers in their respective states to identify where and what kinds of Broadband services are available and where there are underserved and unserved areas.
It is assumed that the states will be able to obtain the most accurate data possible and to continuously update and refresh the data provided, to make it more and more accurate over time.
The data provided by Broadband service providers doesn't show which specific services are available at a specific street addresses, but does indicate which services are generally available within a specific census block. Also, provider data indicates maximum advertised, not actual experienced speeds.
Some states, including Arizona, are also implementing independent verification programs to independently confirm service availability and actual experienced upload and download speeds. This verification data will be displayed on the Arizona map in the future. There currently is no plan for verification data to be displayed on the national map.
SECOND: Arizona has funds available for engaging local communities… especially in rural areas
ASET (Arizona Strategic Enterprise Technology - formally GITA) will work with these communities to develop local plans for attracting service providers.
By aggregating consumer, business, and government demand for Broadband through education and community organization communities will incentivize providers to offer or increase the levels of Broadband service available.
In addition, we will be involved in analyzing rights-of-way issues that have historically created economic barriers and disincentives for service providers for building out Broadband capacity, especially in rural communities.
ASET will recommend policy changes that could streamline permitting, easement, and rights-of-way re-use and sharing issues that could speed up and lower the cost for providers to bring increased Broadband capacity to rural communities and other underserved areas.
