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The Broadband Lifecycle: Awareness, Adoption, Impacts, and Outcomes
This month we finish our three-part series covering the steps of the broadband lifecycle. In May we covered demand analysis and pre-planning while June's discussion centered on strategy, investing, and building the network.
The last steps of the process to create a "platform for productivity, competitiveness and innovation" via broadband are both simple and complex, and the most critical step in the journey - driving usage.
Step 5: Awareness & Adoption Support
Upon the complex building or expansion of the network, we turn to the basics, in this case Marketing 101. Even the world's best product or service has no chance without consumers learning about its availability. Likewise, if it is difficult or confusing to get their hands on your product/service, its most likely that consumers will just continue the status quo, never to adapt your offering, no matter how life-changing.
Your message should always focus on life changing the benefits of broadband - avoid a "features" discussion. No matter the product or service, consumers "buy" benefits. They want to know why and what will change in their lives… not how. Once your marketing has convinced consumers and businesses that they need/want the social and economic benefits of broadband, the "how" to get connected naturally follows.
Please click here to read the full article, continuting with more on Step 5, Steps 6 and 7.
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How's Your Bandwidth?
What do you think of Bandwidth? Three issues in, we're pleased with the feedback we've received to our monthly e-newsletter. We're told that we're making the complex understandable, helping to make the impossible seem possible.
That is, of course, what we do every day - helping build platforms for innovation, all over the globe. We're providing bandwidth - in the form of expertise and leadership - for numerous communities along the Broadband Lifecycle.
If there are topics that you would like us to address or if you have general feedback, please contact me at bandwidth@sngroup.com.
Doug Adams
Strategic Networks Group
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Broadband Lifecycle in Action: Virginia
Adjacent to Washington DC and the home of the FCC, Virginia is about to embark on journey along the Broadband Lifecycle. This is one trip the Bristol area in western Virginia is already very familiar with - as in 2007, SNG partnered with FiberToTheHome Council and BVU OptiNet (Bristol Virginia Utility) for step 6 of the broadband lifecycle - measuring outcomes. And with research of impacts, came an opportunity to uncover where to allocate additional fiber resources.
The Center for Information Technology (CIT) of Virginia is targeting surveys to 30 thousand businesses and over 8 thousand homes. With a statewide effort, this is a groundbreaking study on the benefits of a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) deployment. SNG will examine the economic and civic benefits that can be realized, give a holistic picture of the Community Return on Investment - and hopefully drive broadband development and growth throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Click here to read more about Virginia, the economic impacts, and furtehr statewide efforts.
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Get Smart
 Before we wrap up this issue of Bandwidth, a few words about smart grids. Before you tune out from this seemingly over-hyped and over-discussed topic, we're with you - smart grids are not exactly the most exciting topic. While touting the need for smart grids, there seems to be a lack of discussion of the benefits.
Proponents of smart grids need to convey the benefits to drive awareness and adoption among businesses and households. Just like any broadband-enabled application, in order to drive adoption, change agents need to tell people why they should care and/or change their behavior - a "so what." Smart grids are here, they are great… so what does that mean to me?
Driving awareness and adoption (Step 5 of the Broadband Lifecycle) seems to be a missing component in many of the early smart grid initiatives. And while finding the benefits that resonate for your audience is key to driving adoption - let's not forget the first step - awareness. SNG's recent studies show that the number of business owners and homeowners even aware of a "smart grid" falls under 5% of the population. Click to read more about smart grids and how to drive awareness and adoption among different audiences.
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As always, thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to get in touch!
Michael Curri
Founder/President
mcurri@sngroup.com
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Strategic Networks Group
800 W. St Clair Avenue
Cleveland OH 44113
1300 Richmond Road, Ottawa, K2B 8L2 Canada
+1.888.815.2SNG (2764)
info@sngroup.com
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