William Lehr1
Tony Smith-Grieco
Grace Rusi Woo

assistance from MIT graduate students, Tony Smith-Grieco and Grace Rusi Woo. This work was funded
by a research grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to support a joint MTC-MIT
research effort to establish better metrics for broadband in Massachusetts and with support from the MIT
Communications Futures Program (http://cfp.mit.edu). The opinions expressed in this report are of the
authors alone.

3. Why broadband metrics are important and challenging...................................... 8
3.1. Broadband is essential infrastructure...................................................................... 8
3.2. Need for broadband metrics..................................................................................... 9
3.3. Status of broadband in the United States............................................................... 10
3.4. Why is measuring broadband and its economic impact difficult.......................... 14

3.4.1. Broadband is infrastructure.....................................................................................................................14 3.4.2. Broadband changes the way businesses operate and people live and work.........................................14 3.4.3. Broadband is a moving target.................................................................................................................15 3.4.4. Broadband data is not readily available publicly...................................................................................15 3.4.5. Broadband causality is difficult to infer.................................................................................................17

4.1.1. Supply-side v. demand-side....................................................................................................................18 4.1.2. End-user market: Business v. Consumer................................................................................................19 4.1.3. Current v. Future Needs..........................................................................................................................20 4.1.4. Infrastructure and service availability....................................................................................................20 4.1.5. Service adoption and usage.....................................................................................................................21 4.1.6. Pricing.......................................................................................................................................................21 4.1.7. QoS...........................................................................................................................................................22

4.2.1. End-user market classification................................................................................................................23 4.2.2. Data rate....................................................................................................................................................24 4.2.3. Technology...............................................................................................................................................29 4.2.4. Services offered........................................................................................................................................31 4.2.5. Key characteristics such as \u201calways on\u201d connectivity, \u201copenness,\u201d etc...............................................32

5. What data is collected and how........................................................................... 33
5.1. Goal of data collection............................................................................................. 33
5.2. Timing of survey...................................................................................................... 35
5.3. Methodology and details of collection efforts......................................................... 35

5.3.1. Organization (who conducts effort? Statutory or other? Scope of effort?)..........................................35 5.3.2. Cross-validation.......................................................................................................................................36 5.3.3. Data ownership, presentation, and access..............................................................................................38 5.3.4. Funding.....................................................................................................................................................39

6.4.1. Illinois.......................................................................................................................................................55 6.4.2. Michigan...................................................................................................................................................55 6.4.3. Pennsylvania.............................................................................................................................................55 6.4.4. Ohio..........................................................................................................................................................56 6.4.5. Tennessee.................................................................................................................................................58 6.4.6. Vermont....................................................................................................................................................59 6.4.7. Virginia.....................................................................................................................................................62 6.4.8. Wyoming..................................................................................................................................................62

7.1. Have a clear mission................................................................................................ 65 7.2. Establish reasonable goals for broadband progress.............................................. 66 7.3. Establish GIS-enabled Broadband Tracking Capability....................................... 69 7.4. Maintain on-going demand-side surveys and tracking capability to supplement. 70 7.5. On-line tools will be an important component....................................................... 70 7.6. Appropriate Organizational Structure for Managing Broadband Policy............. 71

7.6.1. Is there a need for a new broadband authority or is a task force sufficient?........................................71 7.6.2. How to address the growing challenge of data confidentiality?...........................................................71 7.6.3. Which state agency should assume principal responsibility for the metrics activity?........................72 7.6.4. Should the activity be outsourced?.........................................................................................................73