Educating elected officials and the business community about telecom as an important component of economic development has been one of two continuing goals of the Kitsap Regional Telecom Committee (KRTC) for five years. Setting the stage for Kitsap County to provide the necessary infrastructure that technology-driven businesses require has been the second goal throughout the life of the committee. Providing opportunities and increasing jobs are an outcome that can be achieved when both these goals are reached.

The focus on economic development and jobs is a natural choice for the KRTC as it is a program committee of the Kitsap Regional Economic Development Council (KREDC). The recruitment of companies to Kitsap County like American Financial Solutions, Dimension4 and Nextel/Teletech are examples of companies who rely on telecom for operations. Defense contractors, architects, engineers, home-based businesses and others also utilize telecom to reach optimum performance. Retention of existing businesses and recruitment of new companies may have more than an attraction to Kitsap County in common — they often require state of the art telecom to remain or move here. Those telecom requirements are being met with increasing options — thanks to the KRTC.

Ed Stern, KRTC Chair, City of Poulsbo Council member and member of the KREDC Board of Directors, notes the following when asked about the accomplishments of the KRTC. “We used a ‘shake and bake’ method to leverage and harness public and private telecom partners in the first years of the KRTC to encourage the long cherished American value of free market competition. The strong, but productive interplay between public (KPUD) and incumbent providers (telco, cable and ISPs) was not accidental. The ‘shake and bake’ method resulted in high spirits, but also resulted in higher investment.”

Stern further notes, “The KRTC was the key influencer in Kitsap PUD’s mind to join the NoaNet consortium of the Northwest. That NoaNet affiliation created a $5 million investment in fiber optic backbone in Kitsap County and the rather intense interplay of competition in the county between private sector and providers. The committee also helped increase investment by the same in a ‘small’ market that otherwise would not have received the same level, given our population demographic in the larger US market, to be sure!”

In addition to the interchange between public and private investors, end-users and interested community members, the community has invested time in educating Kitsap County about telecom. Two KREDC telecom events were supported by the KRTC. “Going Cyber” in 2000 and “Get Connected” in 2001 provided a forum for providers to show off technologies and products and for the Kitsap community to learn more about the merits of telecom technology in business and economic development.

A KRTC subcommittee prepared the “Last Mile — Bring It Home” reprint in July 2002 detailing private sector last mile solutions. A copy of the report is on the KREDC’s website (www.kitsapedc.org/business/telecom.asp). The report is consistently one of the most downloaded documents on the KREDC’s website, proving the continued interest in telecom.

Input from the committee was solicited from both private and public entities. In 2003, the City of Poulsbo utilized the knowledge base of the KRTC to help form the city’s conduit ordinance. Other activities of the committee include numerous presentations from public, private and non-profit organizations on various telecom topics; collaboration with the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council (KRCC); and presentations to community groups on telecom. The dedication of the KRTC volunteer base also drew attention to Kitsap County from entities such as the University of Washington’s Center for Internet Studies and Washington’s Digital Divide.

In 1999, the goals of the KRTC were focused on infrastructure and education. The infrastructure goals were centered on determining what was present in Kitsap, what was planned and what improvements were desired. The education portion dealt with getting the word out on what technology is current and available and what applications are desired. Today, those goals have a basis in infrastructure and education, but have evolved to this statement: Creating market demand for telecom services and helping to address that demand. That 2003 goal statement is achieved through educational efforts and a concerted effort to influence policy and acting as a resource for public and private discussions. The evolution of the KRTC’s goals is proof that change has indeed occurred and telecom in Kitsap County is more sophisticated and more in demand than it was in 1999. What the future holds is known only by those who can read a crystal ball, but this much is clear — telecom is an integral part of Kitsap County’s present and future economic development.

(Editor’s Note: For a sampling of KRTC presentations and findings, visit the committee’s website at www.krtc.org.)