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CenterFuse Broadband Feasibility Report quality of life in a community. For example, an electric smart grid system can be used to pinpoint the location of network outages, which can greatly speed up repairs and restore power outages. Monitoring water networks can pinpoint water leaks that can otherwise cost the community by wasting water. While most smart grid technology today uses wireless connections to smart grid devices, having a fiber network can benefit a smart grid deployment in the city. • City Intranet. One interesting function provided by cities with fiber networks is the creation of a robust intranet for those connected to the city fiber. For example, in Lafayette, Louisiana all customers connected to the city-owned fiber network can communicate at gigabit speeds with anybody else on the city network. Even if a household buys a slower speed to connect to the outside Internet, within the city workers can connect to the office or students can connect to the school with gigabit speeds. Improved Property Values, Real estate agents across the country report that housing prices are higher in communities with great broadband options. Realtors have been reporting across the country that broadband is at or near the top of the wish list for most homebuyers today. During the pandemic there has been a lot of value placed on the ability to work from home—and much of that ability comes from fast broadband upload speeds. There are a few communities that recognize the economic benefit of having good-paying employees that work from home. For example, there have been several programs to attract people to work from home. One such program was in 2018 where Vermont offered a cash incentive of between $5,000 and $10,000 for families with a home-worker to relocate to the state. The state has an aging population and wanted to attract families with good incomes to help energize the local economy. The state recognized that the long-term local benefits to the state from attracting high-paying jobs is worth a lot more than the cash incentive being offered. Since then, other communities have tried the same thing. A similar effort was announced in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has been watching its population drop since 2016. In Tulsa, a foundation is fronting the $10,000 payments used to attract home workers to the community. There is a similar program in Topeka, Kansas and in northwest Alabama. Improving Demographics. Communities that have had fiber for over a decade say that the presence of fiber has improved the demographics in the community in terms of statistics like average household income. This is likely to do with a little boost from a number of the above benefits of fiber. Fiber networks make it easier for people to work from home, and for some families see a boost in household income. Businesses on fiber are free from the broadband constraints that held them back in little ways in the past. It's a slower long-term benefit, but better broadband means better performance from students and that translates into higher earnings capabilities over a work career. Page 85