Eastern Kentucky Telecommunications Summit "The National Information Infrastructure Initiative: New Economic and Educational Opportunities" Remarks by Larry Irving Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information National Telecommunications and Information Administration Department of Commerce Cumberland, Kentucky February 26, 1996 [as prepared for delivery] I want to thank Congressman Rogers for his leadership role on many critical telecom issues. Congressman Rogers is playing a vital role in ensuring that our country maintains its leading position in the area of telecommunications and that rural communities share in the benefits of the Information Age. I also want to thank Kevin Fromer, Jennifer Miller, and Sally Chadbourne, of Congressman Rogers' staff, for all their hard work. I also want to commend Governor Patton and the Commonwealth of Kentucky for promoting telecommunications and information technologies to benefit the residents of Kentucky. From making information available on-line, such as "How to do business with the Commonwealth of Kentucky," to the numerous initiatives at the universities, colleges, and K-12 schools across the state, local and state leaders are working hard to serve better your students, businesses, consumers, public libraries, health care providers -- all of Kentucky's citizens. And I want to thank Hilda Legg, Director of the Center for Rural Development, and Jim Wilde, coordinator of the Kentucky Appalachian Telecommunications Consortium, for all they have done to bring the benefits of advanced telecommunications to this region, and in particular, for educating me and my colleagues at NTIA so that we can better formulate telecom policy to meet the needs of rural residents. The passage of the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 certainly has everyone talking about what it means, who profits and who may lose, and which provisions are already under attack. I am reminded of the following story: A grandmother is looking after her grandson as he runs around on the beach. As she turns away for a second to rummage through her pocketbook, her grandson gets caught in the undertow. By the time she spots him, the current has already carried him 50 yards offshore. The grandmother is panic-stricken. Both the Coast Guard and a police helicopter are summoned as a lifeguard valiantly rows after the boy. Eventually, after great effort, he is retrieved and brought to shore, where the lifeguard resuscitates the child to the applause of everyone on the beach. "Excuse me," the grandmother says. "He had a hat . . ." In many ways, it's easy to take the same approach to the new telecom reform law. It's easy to forget the hard work undertaken by Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House to produce truly landmark legislation that will bring tremendous benefits to American consumers and business, and instead focus on the few provisions that we wish had survived the legislative process or which were added against our wishes. We now have a telecom reform law that promotes competition, not monopoly power; one that promises to bring consumers lower prices, better quality, and greater choices in their telephone and cable services; one that will allow Americans to continue to benefit from a diversity of voices and viewpoints in radio, television, and print media; and one that preserves our nation's commitment to universal service, to the concept that all Americans should be connected to the information superhighway. The Clinton Administration believes that the legislation has the ability to lead us into an era of innovation, investment, and inclusion. As President Clinton said when he signed the bill: This historic legislation in my way of thinking really embodies what we ought to be about as a country and what we ought to be about in this city. It clearly enables the age of possibility in America to expand to include more Americans. It will create many, many high-wage jobs. It will provide for more information and more entertainment to virtually every American home. It embodies our best values by supporting . . . market reforms . . . as well as the V-chip. And it brings us together, and it was passed by people coming together. As the President, Vice President, and Secretary Brown have all noted, the telecom reform legislation can benefit American consumers, workers, and businesses. Consumers can benefit from greater choice and lower prices. Some experts predict that the legislation will result in the cost of local telephone service falling 70 percent over the next ten years. Workers can gain from the new, high-wage jobs that will be created. More than 36,000 jobs were created at Internet-related companies last year alone. And American entrepreneurs and businesses can profit both here and abroad as new markets open up for their products and services. American companies will no longer be limited by artificial regulatory boundaries. Now, businesses can expand as far as their creativity and innovation takes them. The issue that I want to address today is how Eastern Kentucky best can benefit from the new legislation and take advantage of new opportunities. In particular, I want to discuss how telecom can assist in economic development, public safety, and education. Economic Development Let's begin by looking at how advanced telecom and information technologies and services can bring new economic opportunities to residents and businesses of this region. In 1995, PCs outsold TVs, the number of e-mails surpassed snail mail, and data traffic over the Bell System (driven by Internet use) exceeded voice traffic. Today, more Americans build computers than cars, more make semiconductors than construction machinery, more work in data processing than petroleum refining. Since 1990, U.S. companies have spent more on computers and communications gear than all other capital equipment combined. Software is the country's fastest growing industry. World trade in information-related goods and services is growing five times faster than trade in natural resources. New technologies will benefit not only the television, telephone, cable, and satellite industries, but also producers of consumer goods of every variety, restaurant owners, clothing designers, coal miners -- you name it. Every type of company can benefit. Businesses are using the Internet to cut costs. Last year FedEx saved $2 million by letting customers track packages over the Net. Wal-Mart and Wrangler Jeans use technology to manage their inventory more precisely. And small and growing companies also can benefit. Today through the Internet, you can order brownies from Vermont (I've done that!) and Girl Scout cookies (www.thinmint). Jewelry and compact disks are easily sold on-line. Soon cars, clothing, and other goods will be sold the same way. Last Wednesday, Atlanta-based Wolf Camera & Video, a major photo retailer, announced a new service that allows customers to drop off their film for processing and then view their pictures on the Internet and electronically order reprints and enlargements as well as send copies to relatives in other states. In sum, the Internet enables small and large companies alike to produce, market, and distribute more efficiently. Companies can more easily attract customers nationwide and worldwide. The economic potential for rural communities is great, as people can physically be located anywhere so long as they have a modem and fax. Using telecom technology, old concepts of time and distance disappear. This region, Appalachian East Kentucky, has some wonderful crafts that could be marketed nationwide on the Internet, using new 3-D Web pages to give viewers a good sense of the product. This is a way to use technology to achieve a more sustainable economy while preserving part of the cultural heritage. For example, for $50 a month, a merchant can advertise merchandise on "InterMall." On InterMall, a Web page advertisement can include pictures, descriptive text, even soundclips. Customers view the on-line catalog and place their order via e-mail or telephone. Or perhaps one of the area community colleges -- such as Southeast Community College or Somerset Community College -- can help create an on-line presence for area merchants and craftspersons. Innovative use of satellites can bring tremendous help for the agricultural industry and for individual farmers. Senator Pressler recently related an interesting anecdote on how new technologies could revolutionize farming. It's called "site-specific" or "precision" farming. As he told it, "First, soil moisture and crop yield sensors are spotted in fields. These sensors can narrow acres and acres of land down to as little as 20 foot squares. These censors then interact with the new Global Positioning Satellite network. The system feeds information back to computers on the farm. This information gives farmers the kind of precise information they need to target fertilizer, irrigation, and other services. The approach radically reduces operating costs. It helps the environment by reducing leaching and stream run-off... [and] it is possible only because of the marriage of computers and communications." Large farms are now taking advantage of precision farming. Cooperative arrangements could make this a viable option for small farms as well. In California, farmer-advisor Peter Goodell is using computers to help farmers with everything from treating spider mites to replanting. Farmers use calculator-size, hand-held computers to enter data in the fields as they inspect their crops. Moreover, think how some of these applications can be used in other industries. For example, just as computers have been used in the mining industry to lower operating costs, they also can be used to market products, and to service better customers. Using telecom and information technologies to spur economic development is one of the goals of NTIA's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP). TIIAP grants are available to state and local governments, schools and school districts, hospitals and clinics, libraries, community centers, and other public institutions. TIIAP grants require at least a 50 percent matching grant, which has led to many public-private partnerships. The projects are community-driven, not Washington-driven. A TIIAP project located here in Southeast Kentucky exemplifies what we are trying to do. The Center for Kentucky Rural Economic Development and the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation are developing an information network to support entrepreneurs, small and new businesses, and the expansion of the region's existing industries. Acting as a hub for the system, the Center will house videoconferencing and distance learning facilities, connected to the Kentucky Information Highway through a high-speed telephone line. As many of you know, Kentucky has one of only three rural federal Empowerment Zones (EZ) in the nation. This project focuses on the three EZ counties of Clinton, Wayne, and Jackson. TIIAP support will equip an origination facility and the first two of a projected six electronic classrooms. The video and data network will function as the delivery system for a number of services, including a comprehensive worker training program that includes basic academic and literacy skills; a program to encourage tourism as a way of expanding the local economy; and an agricultural marketing program that focuses on product utilization and development of local processing facilities. A third partner in the project, the Kentucky Information Resources Management Commission, is providing technical assistance and acts as a conduit for delivering state resources to the region. Thanks to the leadership of Hilda Legg and many other community leaders, area residents will soon reap the benefits of these efforts. And others across the nation will also benefit, as we share the lessons learned here in Kentucky with other communities. This region can look to similar rural Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) for potential models to follow. For example, Fayette/ Haywood, Tennessee has leveraged their position as a rural EC by partnering with the Jackson, Tennessee non-designated urban community to access a viable telecommunications infrastructure. The communities have arranged to provide T1 access, video conferencing, and distance learning capabilities throughout the participating communities. Positive feedback has already begun with potential new business and industries considering locating in these communities due in large part to the availability of a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure. Public Safety I also want to note the importance of telecommunications for public safety and law enforcement activities. This region of the country hosts a number of different jurisdictions in a relatively small area -- Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee state police; state park police; federal park police; and municipalities/counties. Enhancing the ability of these different entities to communicate easily helps the entire community. The success of many crime-fighting endeavors depends on the existence of an effective communications infrastructure and a coordinated Federal-state-local government response. Key to achieving this is (1) creating interoperable radio systems, and (2) ensuring that the law enforcement community has access to adequate amounts of radio spectrum. Currently, local, state, and Federal law enforcement and public safety agencies operate in different bands of the radio spectrum and use a variety of equipment and technologies. When different law enforcement government officials go into an emergency situation, incredibly they are not able to communicate on the same frequency. Indeed, what happened in the Oklahoma City bombing crisis is instructive. Federal agents were not able to communicate via their walkie-talkies and other wireless devices with state and local police and rescue workers. Moreover, new technologies that allow for the wireless transmission of large amounts of data and video will allow law enforcement officers to receive mugshots in their patrol cars and to run almost instantaneously fingerprint checks of suspects from the scene of the crime. Congressman Rogers has been a strong advocate of doing more in this area, and his advocacy has led to the formation of the Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is comprised of representatives of local, state, and Federal governments and of industry. The Committee will provide advice and recommendations to NTIA and the FCC on operational, technical, and spectrum requirements of Federal, state, and local public safety entities through the year 2010. The Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee has been hard at work this fall addressing these issues include defining "public safety," developing interoperability requirements, determining spectrum requirements, identifying appropriate spectrum to use, overcoming interference concerns, and examining the technical alternatives for public safety mobile radio equipment. I cannot overstate the importance of these issues as we move to build out the information superhighway in a way that not only grows our economy but also ensures our welfare. The new telecommunications and information technologies offer tremendous opportunities to aid our law enforcement and other public safety goals. Educational Opportunities Key to Kentucky's economy historically has been its abundant natural resources. Today, any community's most important resource is its people. Candidly stated, no company is going to invest in a community without a trained workforce. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich talks about the need to adopt "a strategy of adjustment and adaptation: embracing the opportunities of the new economy and investing in our workers so they can thrive in it; improving wages by upgrading skills." And you are doing that. On August 25, 1995, Kentucky became the first state in the nation to connect 100 percent (176) of her local school districts to the statewide network (integrated voice, video and data) via dedicated 56KB and T1 lines. Kentucky's increasing use of technology in education is part of a nationwide trend. Ten years ago, the average number of students per computer in American schools was 125-to-1. Today, that ratio is 9-to-1. A new survey, "Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Elementary and Secondary Schools," released by the Department of Education last Tuesday found that approximately half of the nation's public schools had access to Internet at the end of last year, a 15 percent increase from 1994. However, only 9 percent of classrooms had Internet access, although that is triple the figure for 1994. The survey results show progress, but also reveal that there still are major issues of equity, with schools having poorer populations showing much less access than wealthier areas. The survey also found that rural areas are increasing their Internet access at a fast rate and are approaching city school systems. In 1995, 48 percent of rural schools had Net access, up from 35 percent years earlier. That compares with 1995 access penetration of 59 percent for suburban schools and 47 percent for cities. The Northeast has the highest Internet access penetration, 59 percent; followed by the Central area, 52 percent; the West, 48 percent; and then the Southeast, at 44 percent. But it's not just computers. Distance learning, made possible through video conferencing technology and computers, now allows students to have access to advanced classes, particularly sciences and foreign languages. This is especially important for rural school districts, which have limited financial resources, or not enough students interested in a particularly subject to warrant a class. I saw the benefits of distance learning first-hand when I visited Barrows, Alaska last August -- 800 students, 8,000 square miles. And I am pleased that with the financial assistance of a TIIAP grant from NTIA, the Appalachian College Association is creating a comprehensive strategy for distance learning for its 33 member colleges and universities. The plan will include a strategy for developing Rural Information Service Centers, which will make information technology accessible to enterprising members of the community and allow them to develop technology-related skills. And, with the assistance of another TIIAP grant, the Jefferson County School District in Louisville is engaged in a project to provide 12,000 students in Pike County with specialized courses not otherwise available by linking them to a fiber optic, metropolitan wide area network. Technology can change teaching. It can move us away from the "chalk and talk" model to a more customized, self-pace instruction that encourages more independent work as well as teamwork and collaborative inquiry. The "sage on the stage" is being replaced by the "guide by your side." Technology can connect student learning to the real world and connect schools to the home and community. Technology also has the potential to meet better the needs of teachers for professional collaboration and continuing education. In addition, technology is redefining the nature of our jobs and the skills demanded of our workers. By the year 2000, 60 percent of the new jobs will require skills held by only 20 percent of the existing population. Today, a graduate of tech school will find that 50 percent of his or her knowledge two years into the job has become obsolete. We need to make sure that Americans become adept with computers and new technologies. Our domestic and global economies will demand it. And a technology-literate workforce will be key to maintaining our global leadership role. Again, NTIA's TIIAP grants are helping communities meet this challenge. Here in Eastern Kentucky, we are assisting local efforts to retrain workers, many of whom lost jobs as the coal mining industry experienced a decline. With the assistance of TIIAP funds, the Eastern Kentucky Access to Telecommunications project will offer training and access to a computer network linking individuals, schools, and communities. The project will establish eight satellite downlink sites and offer inexpensive local connections to the Internet. The need to prepare our students for the Information Age is why President Clinton's commitment to put technology in classrooms is so important. Two weeks ago, President Clinton proposed a $2 billion federal matching-grant program to help local communities put computers in their classrooms. The "challenge grants" would hinge on communities' ability to enlist the support of local businesses in the venture. Last Friday, Vice President Gore announced an initiative to connect every school in every Empowerment Zone in the country to the information highway this year. This effort will be achieved through a combination of federal, local, and private sector actions. Let me highlight the Federal action: (1) Empowerment Zones will have access to a new pool of resources through a proposed $2 billion Educational Technology Challenge Fund. To qualify for the matching funds, states must demonstrate the equitable distribution of funds in poorer areas including EZs. (2) President Clinton will issue an Executive Order that will, among other things, create a priority for giving surplus and excess federal computer equipment to schools in Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities. (3) Under the new Telecommunications Act, carriers must provide telecommunications services to schools and libraries at discounted rates. (4) The Department of Education will ask the new Educational Technology Assistance Centers (TACs) to help EZs with the following: 1) teacher training for staff in EZ schools; 2) computer donations; 3) resources from private industry; and 4) development of detailed technology plans. Commitments from the private sector will help meet this challenge. Examples of such private sector efforts are: (1) AT&T will make available to every school in every EZ free Internet dial-up access, web browser software, content access controls, navigational tools, use of its forthcoming national voice messaging service and list software to every school as well as technical support for teachers. (2) America On-Line (AOL) will provide free AOL access for every EZ school. AOL has special Kids and Educational sections on-line allowing a student to dissect a frog, visit the Smithsonian, or search the works of Shakespeare. (3) On March 9th, thousands of volunteers, including the President and Vice President will participate in NetDay '96 in California to help connect as many classrooms as possible to the information superhighway. I'll be there, too. Conclusion The school child in Kentucky will be competing with the school child in New Delhi in the 21st Century. There are 1.4 million programmers in India. In Bangalore, 300 U.S. companies employ 14,000 software writers. We need to equip our kids with the technology skills that they will need to succeed. Let me read the first two paragraphs of a book I recently read: I wrote my first software program when I was 13 years old. It was for playing tic-tac-toe. The computer I was using was huge and cumbersome and old and absolutely compelling. Letting a bunch of teenagers loose on a computer was the idea of a Mothers' Club at Lakeside, the private school I attended. The mothers decided that the proceeds from a rummage sale should be used to install a terminal and buy computer time for students. Letting students use a computer in the late 1960s was a pretty amazing choice at the time in Seattle -- and one I'll always be grateful for. The author of these two paragraphs is Bill Gates. Somewhere in the state of Kentucky is the next Bill Gates, and she will always be grateful for the choices you are making by investing in technology. Once again, I commend you on all you have done and encourage you to continue in your efforts.