At Horst Engineering, an aerospace manufacturing company in East Hartford, every machine on the factory floor is connected up to data cables running along the ceiling. They carry detailed designs from engineers鈥� desks to the precision grinders and tools, which churn out bolts, screws, fittings, pins and other custom components, some with accuracy down to 0.00005 inch.
President and Chief Executive Scott Livingston says connectivity is critical to keep operations going and serve the company鈥檚 global customer base. Aside from the machinery, many of the company鈥檚 systems, like payroll and project management, are cloud-based and require a reliable high-speed connection. Electricity and internet are like 鈥渁ir and water鈥� for a company like this, Livingston said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 every function in the building.鈥�
The company paid to have fiber optic cable 鈥� the fastest and most reliable hard-wire connection available 鈥� run to its new headquarters, which opened this year. Internet service and support on that line costs about $15,000 a year. Livingston said many small manufacturers can鈥檛 afford such high speeds, including many of Horst鈥檚 suppliers.
鈥淚t was a sizeable investment for a small business,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t would be better for us if all our suppliers and all our customers had this level of connectivity. Information would travel faster, more efficiently.鈥�
But not all businesses operate at that level. There is a growing digital divide among 海角换妻 businesses, and as internet speeds accelerate, more small businesses could get left behind.
In 海角换妻, the number of companies with limited or no internet is likely in the tens of thousands 鈥� ranging from rural farms to suburban manufacturers and shops in the cities. State officials don鈥檛 have a clear sense of how many of 海角换妻鈥檚 lack the access they need to high-speed internet. Nationally, the percentage stands at
Without reliable, affordable broadband internet, those businesses are disconnected from today鈥檚 markets. To participate in contemporary commerce, a high-speed connection is not an option or a luxury 鈥� it鈥檚 basic infrastructure. And while the newly passed $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill to build out broadband and make it affordable, the lag time could leave many businesses unable to compete.
鈥淭hink of a small business located in a small strip mall that was constructed 20 or more years ago,鈥� said Burt Cohen, broadband policy coordinator in 海角换妻鈥檚 Office of Consumer Counsel. 鈥淭he businesses are likely all served by underground utilities, which includes communications infrastructure installed by the phone company.鈥� That may no longer be able to support the speeds today鈥檚 businesses need, Cohen said, but it鈥檚 expensive to upgrade, involving 鈥渘ot just the installation cost but also the expense of digging up the driveway or parking lot in front of the stores and restoring the surface pavement.鈥�
The cost and logistics of upgrading outdated infrastructure is only the first obstacle to leveling the playing field. The second is the cost of services. Even if high-speed cable were extended to every location in the state, all those connected homes and businesses would need to start using it. In order for them to do that, computers and modems 鈥� and internet service itself 鈥� need to be affordable.
鈥業t鈥檚 about equity in markets鈥�
High-speed internet needs to be physically accessible and financially affordable, said Awesta Sarkash, government affairs director for Small Business Majority, a national group representing entrepreneurs and small businesses. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about equity in markets,鈥� Sarkash said. 鈥淒oes the small business owner have just as much access to sell their product that other larger entities do? 鈥� Also, do you have the ability to sell and market yourselves online? In some situations, people aren鈥檛 even able to do that.鈥�
Companies lacking hardwire connectivity say it presents myriad problems. Basic business operations 鈥� from ordering supplies, parts and materials, to systems for hiring and training staff or processing payroll 鈥� are now largely based online. Reaching customers also requires a robust digital presence to market products and services, handle orders and manage accounts. Small producers are often required to fill out online applications in order to sell their goods through larger retail chains 鈥� without internet, they don鈥檛 have access to those markets. Even something as simple as accepting payment from a customer, in person, now usually requires an internet connection.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 live without it,鈥� Livingston said.
Over the last 20 months, the need to address that digital divide has grown more apparent.
鈥淭he pandemic underscored the disproportionate disparities that impact small businesses when it comes to accessing internet,鈥� Sarkash said. 鈥淔or small business owners in 鈥� rural, low-income communities, or more dense populations 鈥� where people think or assume high-speed internet is available but it isn鈥檛 always 鈥� there are a lot of barriers to entrepreneurship and to expanding a business. There鈥檚 barriers to contributing to the communities around you.鈥�
A recent study from the Federal Reserve found that expanded broadband infrastructure 鈥� specifically in rural areas 鈥� has , including employment growth, lower costs for businesses and consumers, and rising property values.
A large proportion of 海角换妻鈥檚 small businesses are sole proprietorships, many operated out of the home, and thousands of 海角换妻 residents 鈥� 387,000, 鈥� still don鈥檛 have an internet connection at home. are more likely to lack access.
Many banks, government grant programs and even nonprofit support services now interface with small businesses primarily online. If those websites aren鈥檛 mobile-friendly, it can be nearly impossible for small businesses that don鈥檛 have hardwire, high-speed connections to obtain the critical financing and services they need.
Democratic State Rep. Brandon McGee, who represents parts of Hartford and Windsor, said communities like his need small enterprises and entrepreneurs in order to thrive. Without connectivity, those proprietors are 鈥渇alling by the wayside,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in 2021, and we have businesses saying, 鈥楲ook, I鈥檓 going to have to shut my doors,鈥欌�� because they can鈥檛 reliably process payments or send and receive shipments. 鈥淚鈥檓 certain we鈥檙e not a unicorn in all this. It鈥檚 happening throughout the state,鈥� McGee said.
Defining broadband access
海角换妻 ranks high among states for broadband deployment, policy experts say, and the pandemic drove major advancements. By December of last year, every public school student in the state had a laptop and high-speed internet access, thanks to that was deployed rapidly as several school districts transitioned to remote learning.
This year, the 海角换妻 General Assembly passed An Act Concerning Equitable Access to Broadband, which establishes a grant program for deploying high-speed internet services in underserved areas; coordinates federal funding opportunities for broadband providers; grants certain access rights that those companies need; and establishes internet infrastructure requirements for new building construction.
It also calls for the Office of Policy and Management 鈥溾�� that shows availability and adoption of high-speed internet across the state, including download and upload speeds. This is a critical component to effectively deploying broadband. Policy makers and researchers say the national-level data maintained by the Federal Communications Commission is , relying on self-reporting by internet service providers.
鈥淭he truth is that we do not have precise granular information on unserved areas and households and businesses,鈥� Burt Cohen, of the OCC, explained in an email. 鈥淲e know that the northwest corner of the state has significant areas that do not have access to fixed broadband (meaning broadband service provided by wire rather than mobile service). We have reason to believe that there are unserved pockets in eastern 海角换妻 and elsewhere in the state. Once our granular state map is developed, we will have the data to make sure that 鈥� every household and business in the state has access to high speed fixed broadband service.鈥�
海角换妻 has also set out new goals for broadband speeds of 1 gigabit per second downloading and 100 megabits per second uploading. That goes well beyond the FCC鈥檚 current definition of 鈥渂roadband,鈥� which is set at 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload.
鈥淭here have been many attempts to increase the definition of what broadband is,鈥� said Sudip Bhattacharjee, professor at the University of 海角换妻鈥檚 School of Business. 鈥淥f course telecom companies have resisted, because it would mean most of their networks would be deemed not broadband.鈥� As long as broadband is defined as 鈥�25/3,鈥� digital capabilities in the United States will lag 鈥渇ar, far behind鈥� other countries, he said.
海角换妻 set the baseline higher. Once the state has mapped out where connectivity needs are the greatest, its next task will be to figure out how to extend that high-speed network everywhere it鈥檚 lacking. That could mean replacing or supplementing much of the old telephone and cable lines with fiber optic cables. (海角换妻 is one of few places in the country where towns and cities have , even those owned by private companies.)
Cohen said 海角换妻 is expected to be eligible for at least $100 million in federal grants from the new infrastructure bill, to be used for internet deployment to unserved and underserved areas and providing affordable devices to low-income residents, among other things.
Whatever path 海角换妻 takes, it will require public-private collaboration.
A piecemeal path to connectivity
The state鈥檚 top internet service providers 鈥� like Frontier, Cox, Spectrum and others 鈥� have strong competitive incentives to build high-speed connections to most homes and businesses in 海角换妻, said Kim Maxwell, president of broadband advocacy group Northwest ConneCT, based in Norfolk. But for the furthest outlying locations, or older apartment buildings where space is limited, those companies aren鈥檛 likely to do it without financial help from the state or local municipality, Maxwell said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the sticking point, all over America.鈥�
In 海角换妻, it鈥檚 not yet clear who will pay for the internet to reach those last outposts. And it鈥檚 not clear how much it will cost, since map data is still being gathered and the skilled labor needed to do the wiring could be in short supply.
鈥淧rivate sector cooperation is necessary for all addresses to be capable of being served on an expeditious basis,鈥� said Cohen of the consumer counsel鈥檚 office. He added that 海角换妻 has applied for a federal grant with Comcast to bring broadband to unserved areas in the state鈥檚 northwest region, and a decision is expected by the end of the year. Funding from the American Rescue Plan and the would send 海角换妻 $100 million to expand broadband.
A recent survey conducted by Small Business Majority found that 76% of small businesses support directing federal funding toward 鈥�.鈥�
None of this is going to happen at gig speed.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a window of six to seven years where fiber optic lines are going to be available to some small businesses and not others,鈥� Maxwell said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e in Greenwich, you鈥檙e in good shape. If you鈥檙e in Stamford, some portions of Hartford and New Haven, you鈥檙e in good shape. Towns like ours (Norfolk) will not be in good shape unless they do something.鈥�
Rochester, N.Y.-based GoNetspeed has run fiber optic cable (what it calls 鈥淐razy Fast Internet鈥�) to thousands of locations in New Haven, Hartford and Fairfield Counties. The company decides where to build its network from local businesses and residents through its website.
For Rep. McGee, the delays are becoming a source of frustration.
鈥淢any of the businesses in my district, they鈥檙e saying, 鈥楤randon, what are we gonna do about the lack of access? You鈥檝e been working on this a long time, and we鈥檙e not seeing any movement.'鈥�
Small businesses that can鈥檛 wait 鈥� for providers to expand networks on their own dime, or for the government to provide funding 鈥� are simply paying up.
Like Horst Engineering鈥檚 Livingston, Janet Carlson said she spent thousands of dollars to run high-speed cable to her advertising agency鈥檚 offices in Cornwall. Carlson moved to northwest 海角换妻 from New York City 12 years ago, and she said it took a lot of work to get the operation up and running.
鈥淲e chose our building knowing we鈥檇 have to put in our own network,鈥� Carlson said. With all the large files her staff and clients are regularly uploading and downloading, she said, 鈥淲e had to jerry-rig a fast enough system so we could do our work.鈥�
Carlson now serves as chair of Cornwall鈥檚 economic development group, and she鈥檚 working to improve connectivity throughout the town. During the pandemic, the town has attracted transplants from other areas who were transitioning to remote work.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a town that says, 鈥榃e鈥檒l let people figure it out,鈥� people will figure out they鈥檙e going to work somewhere else,鈥� she said.
Last month, the town of East Hartford 鈥� home to 50,000 residents and a well-established manufacturing industry 鈥� announced a novel approach to bridging the digital divide. The town signed a contract with United Kingdom-based SiFi Networks to run fiber optic cable to every home and business in town at no cost to taxpayers.
This week, the town of Sharon announced it鈥檚 conducting a feasibility study to determine the cost of developing its own fiber network to all homes, businesses, government agencies and emergency service providers. 鈥淣ow is the time for local governments to take control to deliver reliable, affordable, and durable high-speed internet access,鈥� said Michael Solitro, founder of Sertex Broadband Solutions, the company conducting the feasibility study in Sharon.
Once the work in East Hartford is complete, internet speeds around town are projected to reach 10 gigabits upload and 10 gigabits download on the fiber network. Mayor Marcia Leclerc said fiber internet will be East Hartford鈥檚 鈥渘ew calling card鈥� as it looks to attract new residents and businesses. She pointed to Pratt & Whitney and the city鈥檚 large manufacturing base, including Horst Engineering and others who use advanced machinery and need strong connectivity.
鈥淲ith this type of technology, we can engage potential new manufacturers and new businesses 鈥� because we have the infrastructure that鈥檚 needed to run their businesses,鈥� she said.
SiFi will cover the entire cost of the project, an estimated $40 million. The company plans to make back its investment through fees charged to internet service providers, any of whom may offer their services on SiFi鈥檚 fiber network for a fee 鈥� a model known as an 鈥渙pen access network.鈥� (East Hartford is one of dozens of similar projects SiFi is undertaking in the U.S. but the first one in 海角换妻.)
In a statement accompanying the announcement, David Lehman, commissioner for the state Department of Economic and Community Development, said, 鈥淭his project represents a model I hope to see replicated in other 海角换妻 communities in the near future.鈥�