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BROADBAND CONFERENCE HELD THURSDAY IN PINE BLUFF

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, November 13, 2009 12:37 AM CST

About 40 people attended the Broadband Initiative Consortium held at the Pine Bluff Convention Center Thursday.

Kim Tran, vice president of Connect Arkansas, a private, nonprofit that tries to coordinate efforts to bring broadband and education about the Internet to the state.

“We quickly understood that broadband connectivity was something that needed to be addressed on a statewide level,” she said.

Tran said it took time for people to understand the benefits of electricity and that the Internet and broadband access would be the same way.

She said about 87 percent of Arkansas has online access, but only half actually subscribe to the service.

“There’s another 30 percent that don’t even know what the Internet is, much less want to use it,” Tran said.

Another speaker at the conference, Bobby Hoyle, the director of Information Technology at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, said broadband access could increase economic activity in the region, judging by his past experience with increasing education opportunities through broadband access in Texas.

“The most prominent students were females who were head of households,” Hoyle said.

He also mentioned the possibility for attracting new businesses.

“There are a lot more knowledge industries that would like to locate in Southeast Arkansas,” Hoyle said.

Willette Totten, the interim director of technical services at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, talked about technology the university has implemented, including making broadband accessible to all on-campus students.

She advocated for regional access.

“We know it will enhance the city as well as Southeast Arkansas.”

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