Connecticut already is known as a good place for doing business because of its prestigious universities, educated workforce and proximity to New York City and Boston, but a new study gives businesses another reason for moving to the state.
The Connecticut Office for Workforce Competitiveness, along with CERC – an economic development and marketing company located in Rocky Hill – and several other partners recently published a study that shows Connecticut businesses’ and educational facilities’ access to broadband is among the best in the country.
Access to broadband – or high-speed Internet connections – is important “because many new Web-enabled tools require high-speed connections for the application to work,” according to the study, which is called “Connecticut’s Broadband Infrastructure: A Distinct Competitive Advantage.”
“The use and sophistication of Internet technologies increases exponentially with access to broadband,” according to the study.
And Connecticut has a high rate of businesses that use the Internet. According to the study, 100 percent of businesses in the state reported using the Internet in 2003. That compares with 69.6 percent of businesses nationally in 2002. Most of those businesses – at least those with more than 50 employees – connect to the Internet directly with a T1 connection, which allows them to use Internet applications that utilize more bandwidth.
The study is important for the state’s economic development for several reasons, according to Stephen McKenzie, vice president of business development at CERC. Promoters of economic development long have touted a state’s highways, rail systems and airports, but technology infrastructure also has become an important selling point, McKenzie said.
“Certainly, access to information infrastructure is critical,” he said. “Today, infrastructure analysis has been expanded … The study has shown we have a remarkably strong infrastructure.”
Fiber-optic and high-speed Internet connections are just as important as access to roads and ports, McKenzie said.
The study allows the state of Connecticut and economic development marketing firms like CERC to present hard data when trying to woo new businesses, he said. Many other states claim to have superior access to broadband, but without a comprehensive study, they can’t present the kind of data that Connecticut can, noted McKenzie, who compared it to showing a map of the state’s highways to a business considering moving to the state.
“I can prove to you why we’re a good business case,” he said.
It is also a way of showing that Connecticut, despite its reputation as a relatively high-cost place to do business, is a smart place to do business, McKenzie added.
‘Infinitely Expandable’
Connecticut’s broadband backbone comes partly from its location between New York City and Boston. The state has what the study calls “middle-mile connectivity,” which means major network lines run through the middle of the state. Many of the providers who own the lines have “off-ramps” that allow Connecticut to connect to those speedy middle-mile connectors, according to the study.
The middle-mile lines are complemented by telephone provider SBC’s investments in creating its own digital network.
Although the high-speed connections are crucial for businesses, they are also important for living and studying in the state.
Connecticut is also a smart place to attend school, according to the study. The state is building a broadband network to support its K-12 and higher education systems.
“Through the acquisition and long-term lease of dark fiber, the state has created a world-class information infrastructure for education and commerce that is second to none,” according to the study.
One map included in the study shows high-speed access in nearly every town and city in the state.
“Through fiber-optic connections, the [Connecticut Education Network] provides next-generation Internet access, Web filtering, distance learning and multimedia capabilities to each public school district and high education campus in Connecticut,” according to the study. “Large urban communities are utilizing this connection to replace outdated copper-based connections with optical networking connections that are infinitely expandable.”
Connecticut’s households also share in the state’s heavy Internet usage.
“Fortunately, Connecticut possesses a citizenry that adopts computer and Internet technologies at higher rates than national counterparts,” according to the study. “Over 80 percent of Connecticut households access the Internet from their homes.”
Citizens of Connecticut are also more bandwidth-intensive Internet users, which means they are more likely to use high-speed modes of connection than the national average. According to the study, in 2003 about 55 percent of Connecticut households connected to the Internet via a dial-up telephone mode, about 25 percent connected via a cable modem and about 10 percent connected via a digital subscriber line. About 8 percent of households had no access. That compares to about 50 percent of households nationally that had no access in 2003, about 35 percent that connected via dial-up, about 10 percent that connected via a cable modem and about 5 percent that connected via a DSL.
The study concluded that Connecticut’s “significant amounts of network backbone compared to states with similar urban/suburban/rural populations,” along with its high level of broadband access, allow the state to be “well-positioned to compete in the 21st century economy.”
The study was prepared by SZD Public Policy Consultants with data from the Technology Policy Group at Ohio State University. CERC and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development also provided resources.
