Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • February 5, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 25 OTHER VOICES Towns need broader access to affordable, high-speed internet By Josh Elliott F or any Connecticut town to thrive in the 21st century, we need a high-speed, low-cost internet infrastructure that promotes economic development and other benefits. As Hamden's 88th District House Representative, I know that our town's local officials and community leaders are fully aware that the speed and ex- pense of the broadband access provid- ed by incumbent service providers in Connecticut are inadequate to propel our state's long-term vision. The work has begun elsewhere. Pockets of our state have started to invest in blazing-fast internet speed. Towns such as East Hartford, Branford and Manchester are leading the charge by work- ing with private companies to develop better access to infor- mation. In 2017, East Hartford entered into a broadband development agree- ment with SiFi Networks to install a high-speed fiber-optic network to all corners of the town. This public-private partnership equitably allocates the risks inherent in fiber network con- struction and management in a man- ner that significantly favors the town. A recent op-ed in HBJ ("Municipal broadband effort too risky for ratepay- ers") written by a New Hampshire lob- byist, however, called this partnership "too risky for ratepayers." But I believe the greater risk to East Hartford's residents, businesses, and all of its community anchor institu- tions, would be a failure to pursue a project that will yield affordable broadband internet access for all. The author mistakenly asserts that the current market players are of- fering services at the cutting edge of technology. There is a duopoly present in East Hartford: Comcast and Fron- tier. Neither of those providers offer affordable, high-speed internet access service, nor do they offer fiber in town. East Hartford is achieving its goal to lead the state into next-generation networks by attracting private capital investments of this scale at no cost to itself. The town has fashioned a deal that greatly improves the econom- ics for the network builder. This has incentivized SiFi to make an invest- ment of its own funds to complete and operate the project. The author cynically asks if this deal is so good, why hasn't it been done elsewhere? The answer is that it has. Hundreds of towns across the U.S. have found different paths to provide their citizens with broadband that the market cannot deliver. In this case, East Hartford is a munici- pal partner with local champions who recognize the demand for affordable internet access across the town and the lack of supply from the incumbents. The town has successfully shifted the costs of deployment and management to a private investor. These actions taken to- day will create faster, cheaper and better broadband access across East Hartford for generations to come. The express agreement between SiFi and East Hartford was unanimously approved by the town council and me- morialized in a set of legal documents prepared by a very experienced partner from a major Connecticut law firm. It is a private equity deal with no financial obligations on the town for construc- tion or management of a fiber network. Access will be available to all addresses at affordable prices. The author of the December article has also missed the fact that the finan- cial responsibilities of the town in this deal are modeled after the telecommu- nications costs incurred by East Hart- ford already, across all departments. Through this partnership, East Hartford will continue to pay the same amount it currently pays for telecommu- nications. Except now it will benefit from the reliability and high speeds of fiber. If successful, this project stands to become a statewide model for advanc- ing our internet infrastructure. Josh Elliott is a state representative from Hamden. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT: NEXT WEEK'S POLL: Should CT legalize sports gambling? To vote, go online to hartfordbusiness.com BIZ BOOKS How to manage people problems and problem people By Jim Pawlak "Hard-Won Wisdom — True Stories from the Manage- ment Trenches" by Jathan Janove (AMACOM, $17.95). People prob- lems and problem people are obsta- cles on productivity's path. Dealing with these issues often takes an inordinate amount of a manager's time and affects staff cohesion. Based upon Janove's stories, here are two of the ways man- agement can save time (and face) and ensure people are on the same page: 1. Use "star profiles" when selecting people for promotion. Think beyond the job description (i.e. the tasks) and focus on the core behaviors required to succeed in a position. Define success in four or five sentences for each position; your star profile should include the soft skills needed to work with oth- ers. Why? The approach to teamwork/ team-building, the willingness to listen and communications style heavily in- fluences the ability to produce results. Janove makes this point with the story of Morris, a former mili- tary officer who excelled at his non-supervisory job. When the title of acting depart- ment supervisor was added, Morris relied on his mili- tary command- and-control background to manage his staff. Subordinates complained. Produc- tivity and morale plummeted. 2. To end a feud, apply the "Triple Two" to deal with conflicts among employees. Rather than stepping in as a manager, which may be viewed as taking sides, encourage the parties to answer three job-context questions: 1. "What two things should I start doing? 2. "What two things should I stop doing? 3. What two things should I continue to do?" The "Triple Two" allows the parties to discuss their answers in terms of their on-the-job interactions. More often than not, the parties will find common ground. If conflict remains, the manager must resolve it and ex- plain the decision in terms of what the organization requires of them. Should Connecticut have electronic tolls? 31.9% No 68.1% Yes READER COMMENTS: "Only if the funds have no ability to be used for anything but road maintenance. And, I want all politicians to feel the pain — no government issued EZ passes and no reimbursement on their expense reports." "When Connecticut gets its fiscal house in order then a look at tolls to replace other taxes might be viable. Right now it would just be a way to keep hiding spending and union issues." "Of course! We pay every other state from Maine to Virginia to use their roads. Why shouldn't they pay us when they drive through here?" Josh Elliott Jim Pawlak Book Review

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