Strategy Description:

The importance of technology and the impacts on the region need to be understood, evaluated and developed. There could be a regional Technology Steering Committee that would have responsibility to develop a comprehensive technology plan for the improvement of communications in the region. The Committee should be representative of the community so that a consensus plan can be developed that has community-wide support. The Technical Advisory Committee expressed a sense of urgency regarding the implementation of this strategy.

Key Components:

• Create a technology steering committee.

• Develop a Technology Plan to include the following components and outcomes- phase 1 might begin with the major current users and with "targeted" industries (see Strategy 17: Target Industry Analysis).

• Assessment of current technology infrastructure, equipment, and applications

• Needs assessment of regional organizations and facilities

• Evaluation of new and emerging technology

• Education of public officials and the community to telecom issues

• Leveraging of public focus on telecom issues with telecom carriers

• Evaluation of infrastructure development to interconnect county facilities

• Evaluation of opportunity to develop community networks that would include key institutions and businesses: municipal, county and state agencies, educational and medical institutions, telecommunications carriers and corporate, industrial and commercial users

• Maintenance of infrastructure, systems, and applications

• Budgeting and financing (evaluate grants and federal/state loans for technology)

• Focus the plan on the following outcomes:

• Once needs are determined, determine the most expedient process to implement the plan and its goals and to provide continuing implementation and upgrades to the plan and the infrastructure.

• Consider the option of "municipal ownership" of the technology infrastructure. Explore ways to create public access and to quickly set up the implementation of the plan through a public entity. Think boldly.

• Promote telecommunications infrastructure "continuous upgrades" by suggesting policies and procedures for requiring fiber optics infrastructure to be included with public works and utility projects. Jurisdictions may be able to take advantage of construction projects to build out fiber optic infrastructure. Construction permits for excavation along public rights-of-way may require that telecommunications infrastructure (fiber and conduit) be installed at the same time. It may be possible to require public and private utilities to include technology infrastructure with construction projects that would involve underground excavation along public right-of-ways. Over time, a network will develop along road and utility rights-of-way that can interconnect county facilities and community networks. (It was noted that reliance on this process for initial implementation would take too long.)

• Assess the feasibility of developing telecommunications infrastructure to support the telecommunication and networking requirements of county, municipal, and state agencies; educational institutions; health care; corporate, industrial, and commercial users; and telecommunications carriers.

• Develope a community network that would provide infrastructure to support access to competitively priced telecommunication services for the region. Some organizations will be direct users of the network, such as carriers and organizations that require point-to-point connectivity between facilities within proximity of the network infrastructure. Indirect users would be residents, institutions, and businesses that would subscribe to services provided by telecom carriers.

• Be advocates for all components of the plan.

• Support the plan at the local, state, and national level.

• Monitor the plan and its future needs.

• Advocate for new technology in the future. Provide an assessment of the plan at critical points (2005, 2010) and evaluate new needs and options.

This strategy is important to all the municipalities in both urban and rural areas. It may have a greater impact where population is concentrated and therefore may come to those areas first. There was concern that without a watershed-wide plan the rural areas would either not receive services or receive lesser services.

Implementation:

The Centre County Planning Office and/or Centre Region Council of Governments could hire a consultant to prepare a technology plan that would be coordinated with and reviewed by the Technology Steering Committee. There could be a not-for-profit agency or authority for the development of a community-based shared network with participants sharing the costs of the infrastructure. This strategy may be linked with the Growth Management Strategy for a Transportation Authority. It could be expanded to include all types of infrastructure including technology.

Indicators:

Measures of availability of the communications system:

• Miles of network
• Numbers of users
• Percentage of region with service access, and other measures.

Initial cost to form the committee is low; it is unclear where the cost for a consultant or implementation of the plan would come from. Statewide funds and grants should be explored.