Digital Inclusion: NASCIO President James Collins Weighs In

Source: Gov Tech Posted: Oct. 11 2019

As part of the internationally recognized Digital Inclusion Week, we talked with Delaware CIO James Collins about how broadband-related ideas like return on investment and digital equity may collide or coexist.

No individual or entity knows the ultimate solution to the problem of inconsistent broadband coverage across the United States. Thus, it's critical that stakeholders engage in complicated, provocative, and speculative discussions about what the country must do to give all citizens access to high-speed Internet and related innovations. 

Weeks ago, Government Technology published a story titled "Broadband's Economic Impact Remains Unclear, Contested," which indicated that research on broadband isn't always able to link broadband coverage to the greater economic good. With these findings in mind, we posed a series of questions to NASCIO President and Delaware CIO James Collins. His comments from that conversation have been edited for clarity.

Let’s assume there is no guaranteed return on investment for expanding broadband. Does that affect the goal of expanding broadband coverage to unserved citizens? 

It really depends on your definition of return on investment. If it’s strictly financial ROI — based on a certain amount of capital and a certain amount of operating costs and we’re expecting a certain amount of profit — the answer is that broadband expansion doesn’t make sense under that strict definition.

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