High speed internet is Oregon's business

Oregon is making great progress toward universal high speed internet access, and the state's small businesses are reaping the rewards.

High speed internet is opening up previously isolated parts of the state, creating business hubs in unlikely places. For example, North Bend and Coos Bay – which are located along Oregon's Pacific shoreline – are attracting businesses that previously would not have considered moving to the region.

Consider MaintSmart Software Inc., which sells to customers in 25 countries from three desktop computers in offices near the North Bend airport. [...] "All of my business is done on the Internet," said Cook, whose software is used to maintain industrial machinery. "If we couldn't get a fast Internet connection here, this area would have been out, period."

The fiber optic loop in North Bend and Coos Bay was installed in 2003, and it has proven pivotal in opening up the economy of the region. Across the rest of Oregon, a law passed years earlier is having a similar effect.

Oregon Senate Bill 622, passed in 1999, struck a deal with Qwest Communications. The telecom company agreed to invest $120 million in high speed internet infrastructure in exchange for a change in how its profits are regulated. At the time of the deal, just 25% of Qwest customers in Oregon had high speed internet access; today about 80% are connected. And Qwest is continuing to wire Oregon faster than any other state it serves.

The results for Oregon have been very beneficial. As Chris Tamarin, telecommunications coordinator for the state Economic and Community Development Department, says,

"Before the Internet, small businesses in small towns had fairly local trading markets. Telecommunications services are an enabler. They allow small businesses in small towns to compete in national and international markets."

These kinds of public-private partnerships remain an important method for expanding high speed internet. And as the business growth enjoyed by North Bend and Coos Bay has shown, such a goal is clearly in the public interest.

The broadbanding of Oregon (The Oregonian)