For purposes of broadband planning, governmental and institutional facilities are sometimes collectivelyreferred to as “community anchor institutions” (CAI) or community anchor sites. Because these entitiesare often among the biggest buyers of broadband services in a community, the process of discussionsamong CAIs can give you a very good sense of the demand in your community—not just now, but how itis likely to grow over time. These organizations typically have a firm grasp of their current broadbanduse (i.e., capacity, service levels, cost), and routinely project how much capacity they will need to meetfuture growth plans.On the other side of the equation, too, CAIs are also often likely to be the driving force behind a middlemileinfrastructure investment in your community; because the potential revenue relative to the cost ofconstruction is far better for connecting a single CAI than for a residential neighborhood, private sectorproviders are likely to be more attracted to these big customers. Thus, it will likely be more efficient andproductive for you to focus, at least initially, on governmental and institutional broadband demand.(As discussed earlier in this chapter, the New Mexico <strong>Broadband</strong> Map includes many, but not all, of thestate’s CAIs.)Questions to AskDepending on where you are in your broadband planning, your evaluation of community broadbandneeds can be basic (e.g., identifying what groups need more broadband access) or complex (e.g.,projecting capacity needs based on data such as projected population growth, anticipated businessgrowth, and industry concentrations). As a starting point, you should:Meet with representatives of key entities that you believe would be potential users of expandedbroadband access, including the business community, schools, medical centers, touristdestinations, and large organizationsMeet with incumbent and potential wireline or wireless providers to discuss their existingofferings, future plans (to the extent that they will share that information) and interest inoffering services in the communityHold discussion groups with citizens and representatives of various potential user groups tobetter understand their perspectives on existing broadband alternatives and desire forexpanded broadband access in the futureYour local or regional chamber of commerce is an important stakeholder, and a good resource forgetting a sense of small business needs; broadband is frequently a high priority area for chambersnationwide.ChecklistTo help you document your community’s current demand for broadband (and, ultimately, to quantifythe aggregate demand among all users), Table 2 on the following page will enable you to recordinformation about users and their bandwidth needs, as well as notes on any factors that will have animpact on their future broadband needs. The checklist below includes sample questions of the type thatshould guide your discussions (Figure 20).NMBB Program: <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Broadband</strong> <strong>Master</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong>Guidebook</strong> 20
What types of connectivity and broadband services do the stakeholderscurrently use?What limitations do the stakeholders see in their current broadband situations?How aware are respondents of current high-speed options?What are their expectations for current and future high-speed needs?What applications do the stakeholders currently use and plan to use in thefuture?Figure 20: Types of Questions to Ask to Measure DemandNMBB Program: <strong>Community</strong> <strong>Broadband</strong> <strong>Master</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong>Guidebook</strong> 21
Change language