Governor hails high-speed Internet

Expanding access to broadband vital, Ritter says

By Jeff Smith, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 15, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Broadband is the electricity of the 21st century, with the power to fundamentally change the way Colorado companies and other organizations do business, Gov. Bill Ritter said Friday.

"Expanding broadband (high-speed Internet) access has never been more important," Ritter said in opening the second annual Colorado Broadband Summit at the Level 3 campus in Broomfield.

Ritter made his remarks after noting that while Colorado's economy thus far has been "somewhat protected from the strongest headwinds" of the country's financial turmoil, it may yet find itself in peril.

One of Ritter's promises was to create ubiquitous broadband in the state. His Innovation Council is in the process of mapping where additional high- speed Internet services are needed.

Under Gov. Bill Owens, the state, through a partnership with Qwest Communications and other telcos, developed the Multi-Use Network, a high-speed, fiber-optic backbone that connects county seats.

The project was designed to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas, with universities, hospitals, schools and town offices envisioned to be anchor tenants.

But Ritter noted the network still isn't being used as fully as it could be and that more last- mile connections to individual users are needed.

Friday's summit, which drew about 300 people, included panels of speakers discussing specific ways that broadband could boost energy efficiency, health- care delivery, and education in the state.

Ritter and others noted a consortium led by the Colorado Hospital Association recently received a $4.6 million grant from the Federal Communications Commission to help expand a high-speed network between hospitals and clinics in rural parts of the state.

The idea is to do things such as transmit patient records electronically to another health- care provider's office, or enable doctors to diagnose conditions from remote locations.

Colorado Public Utilities Commission Chairman Ron Binz talked about ways to increase energy efficiency and cut energy costs during peak demand.

For example, Xcel Energy's $100 million SmartGrid project, when completed next year, will enable Boulder customers to gather real-time information about how much electricity they are using and at what cost.

But speakers also noted impediments such as the lack of technology standards, privacy concerns over transmitting personal information, and the difficulty for the poor to afford technology.

Level 3 CEO Jim Crowe noted broadband penetration among the low-income nationwide is half that of other groups. "And that's unacceptable," he said.

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