Category Archives: Economic Development

New Funding Source for Telehealth and Community-owned Broadband

By Craig Settles | Published: October 13, 2018

To meet the heightened demand for telehealth and community-owned broadband, National Community Development Services, (NCDS) Inc. teamed with community broadband expert Craig Settles to raise millions for telehealth and broadband infrastructure. NCDS has raised over $1.7 Billion for 600 communities in 46 states since the company started economic development fundraising in 1977. NCDS has staff […]

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Also posted in digital divide, funding broadband, Needs analysis, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Virginia’s Community Broadband Successes Give Truth To the Incumbents’ Lie.

By Craig Settles | Published: January 17, 2017

Like an avenging angel of doom, state legislator Kathy Byron (R-Campbell County) blew into the opening session of the Virginia legislature bearing an incumbent-sanctioned (and probably ghost-written) anti-Muni network bill. As the Roanoke Times states, “In the spirit of naming bills the exact opposite of what they would do, her so-called “Virginia Broadband Deployment Act” would […]

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Also posted in General analysis, Legislative action | Leave a comment

Fiber & Wireless – Stronger Together for Community Broadband

By Craig Settles | Published: January 12, 2017

Google in June stunned some in the broadband world by acquiring wireless provider Webpass and “momentarily” exiting the fiber stage. Hybrid wired/wireless networks became the Next Big Thing – for a month. But what if hybrid infrastructure is the key that unlocks the doors to the next level of community broadband success? My new report, “Fiber […]

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Also posted in Administration, broadband policy, digital divide, digital inclusion, funding broadband, General analysis, Implementation strategies, Making the business case, Managing costs, Needs analysis, Network business planning, Strategic thinking, Tactical thinking, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Resources/Interviews to Make Community Broadband More Successful

By Craig Settles | Published: December 22, 2016

I show you what community broadband success is. Besides executing effective needs analysis that enhances communities’ feasibility studies, my writings and radio show help you make sense of the business of broadband, the never-ending industry hype, and the craziness of broadband politics. Here’s a little light reading and easy listening. I’ve accumulating a huge amount […]

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Also posted in Administration, broadband policy, digital divide, digital inclusion, funding broadband, General analysis, Implementation strategies, Legislative action, Making the business case, Managing costs, Needs analysis, public private partnership, Strategic thinking, sustainability, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Gigabit Nation Top 10 for 2013

By Craig Settles | Published: January 8, 2014

Gigabit Nation started in 2011 as a radio talk show to give listeners valuable news and instruction on how to bring faster, better broadband to communities nationwide. The show is now also a repository and reference center for best practices that help broadband project teams manage the business operations logistics of community broadband. As each […]

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Also posted in funding broadband, Implementation strategies, Making the business case, Network business planning, Strategic thinking, sustainability, Tactical thinking | 1 Response

Will Your 2014 Broadband Strategy Embrace Multi-Dweling Units? (pt 1)

By Craig Settles | Published: January 6, 2014

As economic development pros and others develop strategies for using broadband to boost their local economies, here’s one strategy you should consider that can achieve this goal PLUS increase the financial strength of the network. Are you selling owners of commercial multi-dwelling units (MDUs) on being anchor tenants of the network? Analyze Santa Monica, CA’s […]

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Also posted in Administration, broadband policy, digital inclusion, Implementation strategies, Making the business case, Needs analysis, Network business planning, public private partnership, Uncategorized | 1 Response

Building the Gigabit City Demands the Right Foundation

By Craig Settles | Published: September 30, 2013

Using broadband to impact local economic development is not an exact science and it may never be. However, there are some threads of commonality that run through many of the community broadband success stories. Here are a few. Needs analysis – don’t leave home without it Unless you do sufficient needs analysis early and often, […]

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Also posted in General analysis, Making the business case, Needs analysis, Network business planning, Strategic thinking, sustainability, Tactical thinking | 1 Response

Six Steps for Moving Your Broadband Project Forward

By Craig Settles | Published: September 9, 2013

Getting faster better is increasingly becoming an imperative. However, as much as stakeholders can see the value of the a highspeed network, the question of how to get from here to there stymies probably 50% of communities. And they can’t get out of the starting gate. One major hurdle to moving forward is that folks […]

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Also posted in funding broadband, Implementation strategies, Needs analysis, Network business planning, public private partnership, Strategic thinking, Tactical thinking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Would You Ask Econ Dev Professionals about Broadband?

By Craig Settles | Published: July 22, 2013

Last year, I conducted my annual survey of International Economic Development Council (IEDC) members to get econ dev professionals’ take on how broadband impacts local economies. Here’s the final report from that exercise –  http://www.cjspeaks.com/msp/IEDC2012.pdf. This year I made a few changes to the survey and distributed it to an audience that included local government […]

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Also posted in broadband policy, Strategic thinking | 2 Responses

14 Gigabit Success Stories. But Wait, There’s More!

By Craig Settles | Published: June 2, 2013

Too often we see the incumbent propaganda that proclaims all community broadband networks to be failures. But nothing could be further from the truth as there are over 340 such networks, some having been around for 12 or 14 years. True, there are a tiny number of problem children, but four or five out of […]

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Also posted in funding broadband, General analysis, Implementation strategies, Network business planning, public private partnership, Strategic thinking, Tactical thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Response

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