Whether North Carolina wants to attract large companies to the state or support its growing entrepreneurial hubs, high speed broadband networks are as important as water, electricity and other infrastructure, according to speakers on the business opportunities panel at the WRAL TechWire “Fiber Transforms the Triangle” event Monday.
Affordable high speed broadband will be “a game changer in our area” with greater impact than other technology transformations, said Bill Stice, Cary CIO.
“It’s the new baseline infrastructure commodity,” said Joanne Rohde, CEO of Axial Exchange, a software patient engagement startup. “You can’t compete or communicate without it.” Rohde said that unfortunately, right now, that infrastructure is not robust enough.
Travel to other countries, Rohde said, and you notice that they see high speed fiber networks as “the new roads.” Still, North Carolina, she said has an opportunity to lead in developing affordable high speed broadband networks, echoing a sentiment expressed by numerous speakers at the event.
Even in the U.S., when she travels to Boston, New York City, or Silicon Valley, the former head of operations at Red Hat said, “You see how much better the broadband infrastructure is.”
She said Axial’s business Internet service goes down about four times every month, bringing business to a half. “It’s a real trial for us,” she said, noting that employees work from home where their connection can be more reliable.
Jim Roberts, executive director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, said legislators in the state and locally in Wilmington need to be made aware of the business opportunities high-speed broadband would bring to the area.
“We have to convince community leaders that the infrastructure has to be in place before companies will come,” he said.
Brian Baker, vice president of Sentinel Data Centers, which built a 400,000-square-foot data center in RTP, noted that the large enterprise firms that are his customers deal with big data and handling large data requires high-speed broadband access. He also said the state needs to be careful it doesn’t fall behind others in providing the incentives and infrastructure needed to attract such firms.
Stice noted that for a city, broadband access can help first responders deal with fire, police, water and sewage problems. Not having high-speed access at some locations compromises public safety, he said. Without it, first responders don’t know how many injuries or how bad they are at an accident scene or other aspects of a problem.
Stice also said it’s important as a way to reach out to Cary’s largest growing demographic: Seniors. “Video and telemedicine are a critical piece of how we serve seniors and shut-ins,” he said.
Stice added that most small businesses “operate on a knife edge,” and the cost of doing business kills many of them. If high speed broadband isn’t affordable, it can help sink their prospects, he said.
Roberts said at a recent meeting in Wilmington, the area’s largest firms were asked what their single biggest pain point was and they said big data. “Big data needs big pipes,” he said.
When the discussion turned to the possibility of Google choosing a Triangle city for its high fiber network, Stice said, “If it comes to any of our communities, I think all of them will benefit.”
Rohde noted that Google has been a “growth engine” for small businesses in many ways and its high speed network would “create competition, which is good.”
The members of the panel also concurred that high-speed broadband will be key to recruiting and retention of top employees for companies large and small. The ability to offer flex-time alternatives is important, said Rohde, for those who prefer to or must do their jobs at home and at night.
In a crisis such as an Ebola outbreak, Stice added, being able to have quarantined workers continue to function from home would be important to keep city services working.
