Morry Gash for AP Fans like Steve Gash of DeForest, WI, invested in the Packers to build a new stadium. The same kind of ardor and hustle can create a rural broadband network.

In Green Bay, WI, football fans bought shares in the team to build a new stadium. Local ardor and hustle can raise money for a broadband network, too. Though bumped out of Super Bowl contention, the Green Bay Packers leave broadband advocates with a win: a potent strategy for community ownership of this critical asset. 



In five weeks the community-owned Packers raised $70 million for refurbishing its football field by selling stock in the team. More incredible than raising so much money so quickly is that the $250 stock share price buys the investor very little. The stocks are untradeable, pay no dividends, and do not have securities-law protection. Investors don’t even get a game ticket. (There’s a really fun annual shareholders party at the team’s Lambeau Field, though.)



Examining the path Green Bay took to execute this fundraising feat uncovers the seeds for successfully financing a community broadband network. The three main ingredients are belief in the cause, sound planning and a solid needs assessment.



Clearly, belief in their biggest community asset – the Packers team – is phenomenally strong. A share of Packer stock probably isn’t worth much more than a case or two of beer if an investor sells it back to the team. However, to mimic that credit card ad, the pride of ownership apparently is priceless.



This investor strategy can work if constituents believe in the power of broadband to transform their community. But will constituents put their money where their faith is? Two communities are saying, “yes, we do.”  

Daily Yonder Three rural counties in Northeast Vermont have been spurred to acquire faster broadband and then use it more effectively.

As communities put final touches on their 2012 economic development plans, they should consider incorporating an approach that’s increasingly popular in the broadband world: contests offering cash prizes for creating effective broadband apps. These competitions are happening in metropolitan areas, but there’s no reason rural communities can’t get aboard the trend, too.

Chattanooga recently announced a contest offering $100,000 to the person or group that comes up with the most creative application to run on their gigabit network. Infrastructure vendor Alcatel-Lucent put up the money as the contest’s sponsor.

Communities reap broadband’s benefits from the applications that run on the network as well as from a high-speed network itself. But how do you entice people to create applications if they can’t afford to develop a new product? Offer a healthy incentive, of course.

Apparently this is catching on. Chattanooga soon added additional contests and incentives to its initial offer that now promises up to $250,000 in prize money. (Listen to Gigabit Nation interview for the details.) The two Kansas Cities responded with a contest of their own, the “Gigabit Challenge,” that offers a similar amount.

These contests may seem like extremely expensive and time-consuming activities for increasing broadband adoption. However, they can both be affordable and generate a payback soon if they’re executed properly.