Big Data Science analysis of economic drivers impacting US broadband development using Census data and State Broadband Initiative Broadband Map data from 2011-2014.

1. No More “Half-Fast”: Improving
US Broadband Download Speed
Georgetown University – 2015 Data Science
Capstone Brittne Nelson PhD, Amgad Sirag, Ernest S.

2. Approach and Overview
What?
• Broadband Data Story
• Research Problem
• Data Science Pipeline
So What?
• Data Visualization Story
• Findings
• Lessons Learned
Now What?
• Future Research
• Conclusions

3. WHAT?

4. There were
communities
with no
broadband
access
Every day,
residents and
businesses had
limited or no
access to
resources,
services,
content, new
customers, and
new technology
limiting
opportunities and
community
empowerment
One day, the
US government
created the SBI
to facilitate the
integration of
broadband and
information
technology into
state and local
economies
Because of
that, states
did more to
quickly
expand
broadband to
more areas
Because of
that, the SBI,
decision
makers, and
researchers-
including us-
were able to
assess how
broadband is
being
implemented
across the
US
Until finally,
residents and
businesses
gained more
access to
resources
services,
content, new
customers,
and
technology
that
empowered
and gave
them a
competitive
edge
Data Story

5. Benefits of Broadband
• Increased job opportunities
• Increased employment opportunities due to telework
• Higher pay
• Increased economic security
• Recruitment of job seekers, especially in rural areas
• Increased access to and quality of healthcare
• Availability of a wide variety of entertainment
• Increased participation in everyday economic, social, and community life
• Improved social connections to existing friends and acquaintances
• Creation of new relationships based on common interests
• Improved social integration of minority populations
• More positive attitudes toward aging
• Higher levels of perceived social support and connectivity among seniors
• Lower prices for online purchases
• Improved variety of items available for purchase
• Better purchasing decisions based on online information
• Savings in time and money for online vs. paper-based activities
• Improved connectivity for social or political action
Sources: Center for Social Inclusion,. (2010). The Promise and Challenge of Community Broadband Models. New York City: Center for
Social Inclusion.
Analytics ASR,. (2014). Final Report: Social and Economic Impacts of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. Potomac
Maryland.

6. Research Problem
• Does broadband availability and speed make a
state’s economy and it’s residents competitive?
• When will every state reach 98% broadband
connectivity?
• How are community economic features impacting
or related to broadband development?

7. Hypotheses
• Broadband speed and accessibility will cluster in
urban areas
• Areas with more broadband speed will have lower
unemployment, more businesses, and larger
populations
• Broadband growth is not consistent across all
counties
• Based on past growth, broadband coverage is not
expected to be available in 98% of all counties in
2016

8. Data Sources
• National Broadband Map Maximum and Minimum Download Speed by
County, June 2011-June 2014
– National Telecommunications and Information Administration
http://www.broadbandmap.gov/data-download
• Labor Force Data by County Annual Average, 2011-2013
– U.S. Department of Labor Local Area Unemployment Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/lau/
• Demographic Population by County, 2010
– U.S Census Bureau
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
• Total Number of Business Establishments, 2011-2012
– U.S Census Bureau
http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

9. Resources

10. Data Science Pipeline
Sources: Ojeda, T., Murphy, S., Bengfort, B., & Dasgupta, A. (2014). Practical data science cookbook. Birmingham: Packt Publishing.

11. SO WHAT?

12. Switch to Tableau Data Visualization

13. Hypotheses Results
• Broadband speed and accessibility will cluster in urban areas
• “URBAN” TOO DIFFICULT TO DEFINE GIVEN PROJECT TIMELINE,
NOT ANALYZED
• Areas with higher broadband speed have lower unemployment,
more businesses, and larger populations
• NOT TRUE
• Broadband growth is not consistent across all counties
• TRUE
• Based on past growth, broadband coverage is not expected to be
available in 98% of all counties in 2016
• NOT ENOUGH DATA TO COMFORTABLY FORECAST

14. Summary of Findings
• Identified economic features are mild drivers of
technology implementation specifically broadband
speed.
• Broadband availability makes a state economy and
it’s residents competitive.
• Implementing broadband is not the silver bullet to
community development or economic growth, it
should be incorporated with other economic and
social features.

15. Lessons Learned
• Quantity of data is important for forecasting
• Source of data is important. SBI reports data from
providers which makes it somewhat difficult to
assess
• Plan a significant amount of time for data
wrangling
• Master each step of the data science pipeline
before moving on
• Operationalize more factors to provide a clear
picture of relationships when identifying
hypotheses

16. NOW WHAT?

17. Future Research
• Develop a matched pairs analysis framework that
compares changes in the availability of broadband at the
state level between counties
• Measure how much of the growth in availability within
these counties occurred due to funding (Grants, Federal
Government, Private Organizations)
• Examine broadband’s long-term quantitative
extrapolations and impact on social and economics
• Index and model additional community factors such as
education, adoption, tax rate, etc in order to broadly
define economic impact

18. Conclusions
• There is a business case for continued focus on
broadband improvement
• Broadband improves the overall communities
• Drives economic development and shared
opportunities
• Improve quality of life across the United
States

19. Thank You to the Georgetown University 2015 Data Science Program
Faculty
Benjamin Bengfort
Allen Leis
Sacha Litman
Laura Lorenz
Salil Mehta
Tony Ojeda
(and lady!)

20. Questions?

21. ADDENDUM: TABLEAU STORY