Digital Adoption
Community engagement plays a key role in driving adoption. The following strategies and tactics should be implemented and refined in conjunction with plan refinements.
Evaluation & Education
- Community Survey
- Publish Educational Information
- Map Community Interest
- Marketing & Promotion
Grassroots Engagement
- Webinars & Open House Events
- Door-to-Door Campaign
Looking Ahead to Initial Deployments and Future Planning
Over the next decade, technologies in their infancy will move from development to production. The internet we know today will evolve to accommodate these new services and applications like connected mobility, the blockchain, a transactive energy grid focused on renewable energy, digital education, healthcare delivery systems, and virtual reality technologies. By leveraging the technical expertise of IST, government, and community leadership, Digital Marin is in the best position to manage the available funding opportunities and place Marin at the forefront of these advancements.
The technologies and models used in broadband networks today have seen very modest changes in the past twenty (20) years. Most networks built today still follow the vertically integrated model established decades ago. These networks are closed and rigidly organized for the internet service providers’ profitability resulting in a lack of competition and innovation that favors the status quo.
A key differentiator for network infrastructures will be future technology resilience. Software-defined networks open to any service or innovation, organized as utility infrastructure, and designed with a data center architecture will likely offer distinct economic development advantages over static networks missing these attributes. Due to its comprehensive composition, Digital Marin is in the best position to manage this change to create economic opportunities.
Digital Marin should focus on constructing a publicly owned, next-generation fiber optic infrastructure that provides the resilience, flexibility, and cost savings needed to attract and foster businesses dependent on advanced digital infrastructure for the benefit of all stakeholders, not just the infrastructure owner. This will result in long-term solutions to lower costs and connect all residents and businesses. As the owner of this enabling digital infrastructure, Digital Marin will be positioned as a national digital access and affordability leader.
Next Steps
Ensuing activities to be reimbursed by LATA Grant Funding
- Establish and fund two full-time IST positions to support LATA work in-house.
- Formalize the selection of an operational model based on recommendations in this report.
- Assume or procure the network provider role.
- Continue to update and socialize the plan with the community and potential retail service providers.
The output from the preceding steps will be detail, design, and business model information sufficient to apply for state and federal funding to create one-to-three operational pilot projects. These projects can be scaled to serve the entire county.