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Bandwidth Public-Private Partnerships http://wabroadbandmapping.org/InteractiveMap/WAInteractiveMap.aspx Lare & Associates is pleased to see the State making great progress on developing build-outs, especially to help bridge the digital divide and assist the disenfranchised. According to the WA Broadband maps of Seattle and Bellevue and in Lare & Associates' current efforts we find there are many dense urban commercial areas that still lack access to inexpensive high speed Internet broadband using fiber optics. Lare & Associates is working to connect buildings, commercial property owners with providers. We were alarmed to discover even in the most urban areas the lack of available fiber optics for inexpensive build-outs to commercial buildings. In this cataclysmic economic down turn we have found interests in public private partnerships. An analogy may be worth considering is what is developing in the areas of transportation and renewable energy where Lare & Associates has been organizing engineers, architects, electricians and neighbors to create a "Jobs Engine" through leveraging Federal and State incentive dollars. The Jobs Engine, we have proposed and are waiting to hear back from the King Council and the Executive's Transportation Policy Advisor, the presentation viewable at: http://www.wallingfordsolarinitiative.org/projects/electric-trolley-bus-jobs-initiative) and the Gas Works Park - "Coal-To-Solar" project see: http://www.wallingfordsolarinitiative.org/projects/gas-works-park. Thanks to the City of Seattle's Citizens' Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB, http://www.seattle.gov/cttab/), the City of Seattle's recent RFI to lease their miles of fiber optics cable has demonstrated the city's interest in working on how best to obtain inexpensive / commerce-enabling robust Internet connectivity for the metropolitan area(s), ref.: http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsdetail.asp?ID=12272&dept=48 Government as an enabler of jobs / commerce could be enhanced with providing inexpensive fiber optics deployed in the dense urban areas. After many bankruptcies in the late 1990's and early 2000's, most fiber optic providers now require very high construction fees and/or lengthy service contracts before risking fiber optic builds to commercial buildings. Lare & Associates is hoping since the "economy will not fix itself", that governments will recognize the value in expanding the bandwidth capabilities the cities enjoy to help stimulate a "Jobs Engine" in the urban areas. The State has provided 0.5% of their electric utility tax revenue for photovoltaic incentives to enable local photovoltaic manufacturing and construction jobs, e.g. the opportunity to develop virtually free Electric Trolley Bus electrical substations. Likewise government assistance in developing urban fiber optic deployment that enhances commerce would be very helpful. Even if it just meant streamlining private providers permitting, low interest loans, and expert assistance. Of course better yet would be dedicated resources as is being done with the State's electric utilities tax revenue, providing incentives for stimulating local jobs in photovoltaic manufacturing and construction. Some bandwidth providers have posted their deployments which have been helpful in the Bellevue and Seattle areas supportive of tenant interests. In addition the City of Seattle is now interested thru the national Gig-U effort to make their fiber available per the Mayor's announcement see the RFI at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/65095531/Gig-U-RFI-September-2011 and the FAQs: http://www.gig-u.org/faqs Again Lare & Associates is looking for traction for the above ideas that expand commerce through enhancing fiber optics to businesses committed to creating living-wage jobs. If you have been impacted by roadblocks and/or are tenants with similar needs Lare & Associates is interested in assisting you. Want to discuss further, call anytime. Chuck Lare, an Electrical Engineer and President of Lare & Associates LLC, "vendor neutral" in guaranteeing telecommunication savings for businesses.
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