Advance Partnerships
Utah Broadband Outreach Center Program Spotlight On a national level, the Federal Communications Commission has formed the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, which is tasked with drafting model codes of broadband-friendly practices for municipalities and states, evaluating competitive access issues, analyzing state and local barriers to deployment and providing recommendations to streamline federal siting for broadband. Kelleigh Cole, the program director was recently named as the vice chair of the committee.
Contact Kelleigh Cole Program Director 801-538-8831 kcole@utah.gov
Purpose
Key Initiatives
U.C.A. 63N-12-301
Locate.Utah.gov: During FY 2017, the Utah Broadband Outreach Center merged locate.utah.gov (Utah’s Economic Development Map) with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah’s SureSites (a directory of project-ready commercial real estate). Locate. utah.gov supports corporate recruitment and business expansion efforts by featuring utility availability, transportation resources and outdoor recreation opportunities. Merging with SureSites, the tool will now allow companies relocating and expanding in Utah to search key corporate real estate listings. Locate.utah.gov won an Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council for being a key tool in coordinating public and private collaboration.
The Utah Broadband Outreach Center is a state program focused on working with private sector broadband providers and other relevant stakeholders to encourage the voluntary expansion of broadband networks to support economic development in both urban and rural Utah. The outreach center also convenes the Utah Broadband Advisory Council, which provides the governor and Legislature with policy guidance and recommendations.
Policy Coordination: The Outreach Center is tasked by statute to coordinate broadband development policy and promotion among broadband providers, state and federal agencies and local government entities. Over the past year, the center worked with Sen. Orrin Hatch’s office and several Utah stakeholders to provide input on the Rights-of-Way Permitting Efficiency Act of 2017. Over the past several years, broadband providers have expressed concerns that federal permitting timelines have impacted their ability to do business, and this bill would help speed up that process. It was introduced into the U.S. Senate on March 10, 2017. Since the I-15 Reconstruction Project surrounding the 2002 Olympics, UDOT has woven broadband into rights-of-way along state roads. The Center promotes similar infrastructure projects statewide.
Governor’s Office of Economic Development • 2017 Annual Report • www.business.utah.gov
41
