Broadband Metrics

Recipient:
Communications Futures Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Amount:
$122,530, awarded in November 2006

In Collaboration With:
John Adams Innovation Institute

Cluster/Region:
Communications/Statewide

Overview:
This investment is enabling the Communications Futures Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a methodology for measuring broadband availability and pricing. This work, conducted in partnership between MIT and the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable, will assess best practices from other states, achieve a consensus as to what are the key broadband measures and produce a repeatable data collection methodology. One output will be a metric that can be incorporated into the annual Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy.

Outcomes:
Broadband is understood today as a utility, such as highways, rails and electricity. However broadband is an unregulated commodity; there are no regulatory tools that can help policymakers understand the availability, speed and cost of broadband. Developing a system for measuring broadband metrics in Massachusetts will provide policymakers with accurate information on where competition is occurring, where market failure has occurred, documenting the year-over-year measurement of change. MIT researchers have demonstrated in published reports that the lack of broadband has a direct and negative impact on the economic health of an economy. State and federal initiatives are being developed to help communities stay abreast of emerging technologies like WiFi and WiMax. This project promises to create the baseline data and ongoing monitoring systems that will help guide public investments and track the benefits of those investments.

Website: http://itc.mit.edu/

Report: MIT Broadband Metrics Best Practices