Written By: John Crutchfield III, President & CEO, Greater Killeen Chamber of Commerce
Published in the Greater Killeen Business Quarterly 2017 Newcomers Guide
Change has always been with us. The difference today is the speed with which that change occurs. Economic evolution began to speed up with the convergence of several events, including: the development of and access to computing power; the development of the Internet; the development of robust, global telecommunications networks; the expansion of trade agreements; and the emergence of the global economy.
In a global context, the United States remains a young country. For most of our existence, we have lived in relative economic isolation, but that is no longer the case. Rather, we live in a global economy, one that is characterized by the three sectors of socio-economic growth mentioned in the previous article (Agricultural Age, Industrial Age, and Knowledge Age).
These sectors are layered one over the other. We still produce agricultural products but we do it so efficiently that only 3% of those employed in the U.S. are employed in agriculture. We still manufacture industrial products but we do it so efficiently that only 11% of those employed in the U.S. are employed in manufacturing. Today, knowledge workers are estimated to outnumber all other workers in the U.S. by at least a four-to-one margin. For better or worse, the Knowledge Economy now makes up the largest component of our national economy.
Knowing that knowledge workers make up the majority of our workforce, and that they can work from anywhere, it follows that economic development efforts should focus on making communities attractive to these workers. Simply put: if a community wants to grow its economy, it should focus on growing its knowledge-based economy. Why? Because that is where the jobs are.
So what does it take to grow a knowledge-based economy? Access to high speed bandwidth is an absolute necessity, making it a critical factor in economic development. Bandwidth is the speed with which information moves from place to place. It is a function of infrastructure – the conductors and the electronics that have been installed. Bandwidth is different from community to community and it is different in different parts of a community.
The average download speed, a function of bandwidth, in our community is 15.74 Mbps (Megabits per second). The national average is 18.2 Mbps. We are at a competitive disadvantage. Our goal should be to exceed the national average all across our community, in every business and in every household. This is a challenge we must embrace for the good of our economy.
High speed broadband is a prerequisite for companies looking to open or expand in a community. Lauren Lee, a member of the Corporate Media Relations team at Dell, stated, “when determining where Dell will open a facility, the company considers access to talent, the physical infrastructure and the digital infrastructure, including access to highspeed broadband.”
The steps we need to take are relatively straight forward. First, we need to map and inventory existing bandwidth. Where is it? Of what does it consist? And, who provides it? By doing so, we will be able to determine areas that are underserved or not served. The gaps in service will be obvious. Then, we need to develop and implement a plan to add bandwidth where required. This will require working with providers, or possibly even identifying new providers, and perhaps, funding. The chamber is prepared to lead this effort. It will require resources.
Today, the world is online and bandwidth has become the 21st-century infrastructure issue. Just as we relied on roads, bridges, electricity and telephone service to build the economy of the past, we must rely on ccess to high-speed bandwidth to create the economy of the future. If we don’t have it, we must get it. The future of this community depends on it.