Faster
than a speeding locomotive:
BNSF
partners with Lt. Governor Pat Quinn to offer better Internet connectivity to
rural Illinois
by
Mike Kroll
The
Zephyr, Galesburg
The Lake Storey Pavilion
was the scene of a press conference Wednesday morning where Illinois Lieutenant
Governor Pat Quinn and officials of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
announced a new partnership to offer inexpensive Internet connectivity to
downstate communities along the BNSF rail line. The BNSF may soon be installing
fiber optic data communication cable along its rail route between Galesburg and
Chicago. The railroad is currently exploring a number of competing
communications technologies but will invest an estimated $10 million to lay a
96-fiber cable if an agreement is reached between communities adjacent to the
route in partnership with the Illinois Connect program's Broadband Development
Council chaired by Quinn. Wednesday's
morning meeting was to introduce the concept of this project to local
officials from Galesburg and other communities along the route to Chicago.
According to John Hicks of
the BNSF, the railroad currently has no fiber running adjacent to its Illinois
tracks but needs greater communication capability for its internal operations.
Laying fiber optic cable is just one alternative, and the most costly
alternative to the railroad, unless they can share both the higher expense and
bandwidth. He told the group the railroad currently estimates an annual
maintenance cost of about $1.44 million once the cable is laid and said that
the BNSF would partner with an existing telecommunications company such as
AT&T to construct and maintain the new fiber network. While the railroad's
own needs could be met through a less costly and lower bandwidth approach such
as microwave relay towers, the use of fiber optics would afford advantages to
the railroad and every community that might participate in the project.
ÒThis partnership could be
an efficient and cost effective way to enhance the quality of life, increase
public safety, and provide an additional tool for the business community,Ó said
Quinn. ÒThis is a rare opportunity for Illinois communities to partner with
BNSF Railway to make their fiber network available to the citizens of Illinois.
We are on the cusp of embarking on a major project that will virtually connect
communities that are already literally connected through rail lines,Ó Quinn
said. ÒIt makes sense to bridge
the digital divide by building new networks along the pioneering railway tracks
that have connected us for so long.Ó
Historically, many have
noted the distinct absence of constitutional duties to disparage the need or
role of the Lt. Governor in Illinois. However, reality is somewhat different.
With the smallest staff and budget of any elected statewide office, Quinn is
nonetheless among the busiest elected officials. With the war in Iraq raging
and the resulting casualties, Quinn has spent much more time than most realize
attending nearly all of the funerals of Illinois servicemen and women who have
lost their lives in the conflict. But being the state's official representative
to these funerals is on top of overseeing 17 programs and initiatives and
numerous components of those programs. You can learn
more about these varied programs by visiting Quinn's website, www.standingupforillinois.org.
The Broadband Deployment
Council works with state agencies, local governments and community organization
to help bring high-speed Internet to all Illinois communities. Governor Rod
Blagojevich created the group and named Quinn as its chair. ÒIn just the last
few years we have seen a boom in Internet applications which have created new
opportunities for economic development, education, public safety and civic
engagement. It is clear that access to broadband Internet is the key to
empowerment in the 21st century,Ó wrote Quinn this past April as he committed
himself to addressing the needs of rural Illinois communities. The project is
tied to two of the Lt. GovernorÕs long term programs, Illinois Main Street and
the Rural Affairs Council.
Quinn has become a
self-appointed Òe-championÓ for the state as he advocates a strategy of local
or regional solutions rather than a statewide program to encourage widespread
broadband development. The fear is that if downstate communities do not keep up
with advances in Internet connectivity it will speed the decline of rural
communities and hasten the already evident population shift to Illinois' urban
areas.
In addition to Quinn and a
delegation from the BNSF, the 50-60 people present included Galesburg Mayor
Gary Smith and City Manager Gary Goddard, Tom Carper and Sal Garza of the
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Doug Wilson and Tina
Anstrom of the United States Department of Agriculture, and Nona Myers of the
Illinois Finance Authority. Representatives from a number of communities along
the projected route were also in attendance, for this was the initial
opportunity to meet and discuss the fiber optic connectivity project with
officials from the BNSF. Notably absent was John Guiste, former Galesburg Risk
Manager and a key player in developing this project to its current point.
Guiste recently left Galesburg to take a new position near his home in
Pennsylvania.
Irshad Ansari, president of
NI Solutions and a key actor in this project, described his role as both an
engineer and broker working to bring as many communities on board as possible.
ÒThis project is nothing less than the key to economic development and viability
for many of the smaller communities in downstate Illinois. I am personally
aware of at least two or three economic development opportunities that were
lost to Galesburg specifically because of the absence of affordable
high-capacity, high-speed bandwidth. (An assertion that was later confirmed by
Sal Garza) We're not talking 1.5 megabit T1 connections but rather multiple
gigabyte bandwidth such as is needed by large commercial entities today. Today.
Galesburg just doesn't have the data capacity demanded by many large commercial
business like a data center. Our purpose today is to facilitate a meeting of
the minds to hopefully bring a coalition of eager partners to this project. A
meeting about vision rather than nuts and bolts.Ó
ÒInfrastructure is always a
key to economic development,Ó noted Garza. ÒJust like roads, rail, water, sewer
and electricity — telecommunications or data bandwidth is often a
qualifying characteristic for a business looking to locate in western Illinois.
The ability of downstate Illinois to compete in this marketplace is heavily
dependent upon our investment in such infrastructure. Without the capital
spending bill that remains locked in the General Assembly, it is unclear where
funds to assist projects such as this will come from. Most communities will
need participation from the state to make a project like this financially
feasible, and it just isn't clear when the state will have the necessary funds
available.Ó
Quinn is committed to
projects like this. ÒWe all realize that in the 21st century, access to the
information super highway is becoming indispensable. My office wants to insure
that such access is available to all the residents of this state, everybody in
and nobody left out. This would be a first in the nation project that will
serve as a model for improved broadband access across downstate Illinois. This
opportunity is too important for too many reasons not to make sure this project
becomes a reality and as soon as possible. One of the goals of my office of
Rural Affairs is to help bring more real jobs with good pay and the benefits
necessary to support a family in downstate towns across Illinois.Ó