Turning big broadband dreams into reality in Illinois

On this episode of Connected Nation we're talking with a broadband policy leader who is helping guide connectivity expansion efforts in one of the nation's most diverse states. 

We discuss broadband policy, digital equity, workforce development, and find out what it takes to move from broadband planning to real world deployment in the state of Illinois. 

Related links: 

Shawna Taets LinkedIn

Illinois Office of Broadband webpage

Transcript

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Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (00:07):
This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband. From closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds, we talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. On today's podcast, we're talking with a broadband policy leader who is helping guide connectivity expansion efforts in one of the nation's most diverse states. We'll discuss broadband policy, digital equity, workforce development, and find out what it takes to move from broadband planning to real world deployment in the state of Illinois. I'm Jessica Denson, and this is Connected Nation. I'm Jessica Denson, and today my guest is Shauna Tates, who serves as the broadband policy manager for the Illinois Office of Broadband. Welcome, Shawna.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (00:58):
Hello. Good to talk with you. Thanks for having me on.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:02):
I'm excited to have you. We were supposed to talk last week at Mountain Connect, but I got stuck in all that, uh, crazy travel stuff that people had and never made it to Denver. <laugh> Yeah. So I really appreciate you joining me today.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (01:14):
Yeah, no, really grateful for the opportunity and, you know, one day you'll make it to Denver. <laugh>

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:19):
Yes, I will. Um, my mom lives there, so she, she is insistent that I make it there, so - Uh-huh <affirmative>. Perfect. I'll make it, yeah. And, uh, before we were talking, I always like to give people a little bit of what, uh, goes on behind the scenes. We were talking about you love podcasts, right?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (01:34):
Oh, yeah. Love podcasts, listen to podcasts all the time on a, a 1.5 speed, which is really stressful for everyone around me, but works for me.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:44):
Like at a faster speed?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (01:46):
Yeah, yeah. How can, how can I just absorb more information quicker? <laugh> The answer is play your podcast faster.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (01:52):
Oh, wow. Well, now I feel a little. Yeah, play mine faster and tell me if you understand anything I say. <laugh> Uh, all right. Well, let's dive in. Before we get into broadband policy though, I, I'd like, I'd like to talk to, you know, to you and find out a little about, a little bit about who you are. So let's start with your story. Tell us a little bit about your background and what led you into the technology broadband space.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (02:16):
Of course. I actually started as a high school science teacher. I taught ninth grade science in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. And throughout that time in the classroom, I saw how critical technology was and how limited access to it really affected students and myself as a teacher. So my students would have to walk down the block to the one person on the street who had a desktop computer to write their papers, for example. Or if I was going to, um, give an assignment online, I knew that I would need to be there before school, during lunch and after school so they could come into the classroom and use my computers in there because otherwise after school they would have to choose between like a sports practice and going to the library, which closed at 6:00. So as a teacher, I just saw the real impact of what limited access to technology meant for my students.

(03:09)
And then eventually I moved to Chicago, Illinois where I live now and, um, was working for Chicago Public Schools during the pandemic and saw that internet access and education became the exact same thing. If you were gonna get an

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (03:24):
Education,

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (03:24):
You needed a home internet subscription and that was just not the reality for a lot of students. So that's really when I made the switch kind of into focusing on broadband and internet access as a, a kind of key driver for education and have run with it ever since.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (03:38):
And seeing that real world, um, impact of not having access, it's, uh, has that really changed your point of view? 'Cause I think a lot of people, uh, not to say that you had this point of view before, but a lot of people saw, especially before the pandemic, access and, and internet and having a computer as maybe a privilege in some sense. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, and, or a luxury even. But now it's hard to even argue that, don't you think?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (04:05):
Oh, 100, 100%. Um, could not co-sign that more. It, there is no way for you to meaningfully access the workforce or job opportunities or healthcare without having a device and a solid internet connection. And if you don't have that, you're starting, you know, 500 yards back from the starting line of a race. So, um, it was critical. Like we shouldn't have students going to college who have only ever typed essays on their phones that won't work and they'll have a huge catch up to play. That's, that's really unfair and important for me personally.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (04:43):
Yeah. I can imagine trying to type a report on the phone. I have a hard time doing a text message. Exactly. Um, and before we move on from your background, you also worked with Education Superhighway. Connected Nation has, um, partnered with them in the past. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Talk about that organization. What did that experience teach you about adoption and affordability and like the bigger picture?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (05:05):
Absolutely. So when I was working with Education Superhighway, the mission was really oriented around, um, affordable internet access for every American. So a key barrier to folks having a home internet subscription is that cost of service. You might have the wires in your neighborhood, but if you can't afford the plan, then those wires aren't helpful to you. Um, and

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (05:26):
So

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (05:26):
Through my time at Education Superhighway, I, I saw truly what, um, a cost burden meant. I think for a lot of people thinking that an $80 a month plan or an $100 a month plan should be feasible for most households, that just really wasn't the reality that you saw on the grounds. Folks' home budgets are so much tighter than I think we realized, I realized, we as a society kind of realized. So having the ACP provide $30 a month and being able to put that money back in folks' pockets or giving folks access to the internet for that price point for the first time, um, was really kind of life changing for those, for those households in those cities that I was working with while I was at Education Superhighway. So I think, um, and, and the like impact of having that home internet subscription, um, reliably every month without having to stress about whether or not it's gonna fit into your budget was a huge burden, um, taken off of people's plates because you could automatically assume that you would be able to do your weekly therapy appointment online, um, or you could automatically assume that when your grandkids came over after school, they'd be able to do their homework at your house while you're watching them.

(06:38)
And so I think all of those lessons from promoting the Affordable Connectivity Program at Education Superhighway were really important and stuff that I carry with me today.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (06:48):
And now let's move to your current role. What brought you to the Illinois Broad, Office of Broadband and what, how would you define your current role with the office?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (06:58):
So after the ACP Sunset, um, I was looking for a new opportunity that would still allow me to work in the broadband space and particularly policy. Um, and the fortuitous timing was that the federal government had started really rolling out funding for the broadband equity access deployment, the BEAD program, and at the time, the Digital Equity Act. And so I had already been kind of networking in Chicago around internet access for many years at this point, you know, since the pandemic when I first started working in this space. And so was excited to see a policy analyst opportunity open up at the state level with the Office of Broadband, um, and then eventually grew that role into the broadband policy manager, which is, which is what I work with today, or guest today.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (07:43):
And what excites you most about the current role that you have? What are you excited about? We'll get into the broadband landscape a little further in a moment, but for you personally, what is really exciting to you about it?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (07:54):
What I love most about my job as the broadband policy manager is that I do get to wear so many different hats and get to look at broadband from so many different angles. So, um, I'm spending a lot of time, of course, looking at infrastructure deployment and permitting and what does it take to effectively build broadband infrastructure across Illinois. But I also get to look at, um, kind of the other two goals of our mission, which are how can we use policy and, and legislation and programming to allow folks to adopt the internet more easily, whether it's, you know, can they afford their plan or, um, do they know what plans are available to them, those sorts of things. And then how can we help people to use the internet effectively? How can we make sure that, um, our older adults in Illinois understand online scams and how to prevent them?

(08:44)
Or how can we ensure that our libraries are able to offer digital skills classes to their communities? And I get to think really creatively about all of those different, um, initiatives because we can think about it through so many different avenues, legislation, programming, leveraging the funds that we have. So that's what I love most about my role.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (09:03):
I, I think that's fantastic. At Connected Nation, we always talk about broadband in three buckets, access, adoption and use. And you really covered the, the gamut there. You can't have one without the other. You can't have. There's no. It's, it's not effective if you just approach it with, "Oh, now they got access, good luck." You know? You gotta do more. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So let's really, uh, let's zoom in on Illinois specifically and the broadband, uh, landscape there. It's, it's a fascinating state in the fact that it has major urban centers like Chicago, it has suburbs, it has some small towns, and even it has some rural farming communities. Uh, how would you describe the current broadband environment there and some of the biggest connectivity opportunities and challenges?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (09:47):
You're right on the money. Um, Illinois has a huge diversity of population centers and industry. So my main word to describe Illinois' broadband environment right now is it's, it's disjointed. There are areas of the state that have three or four or sometimes more broadband providers to choose from. Um, there are data centers coming in and commercial, excuse me, commercial scale fiber builds. Um, and then there are areas of the state where, this is a true story, uh, a man at the local bank has realized that he can mount an antenna on the roof of the bank in order to

(10:23)
Have internet at the bank. Um, or we have folks in town that are, or excuse me, folks that live out of town traveling, you know, into the library just to be able to answer some emails or, um, get in touch with their students' schools. So it's really disjointed in the sense that there's a wealth of access and there is, um, a real need for access. And I think that's what we're really at the office of broadband looking to level out because we don't. Well, I really commend the banker for finding a creative solution - <laugh>. Ideally he wouldn't have to do that, you know, he would have the access that he needs to be able to just connect and run that business online as every other bank in 2026 is able to do.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (11:07):
Yeah, I think that's really telling how important it is for someone to actually take that step and say, "Well, how I'm gonna connect it because I need this." Mm-hmm. So that's pretty telling about the, the need that's out there. So, uh, I know you said it's a little, it's disjointed, but are there some areas that have priority right now that you guys are looking at? Well,

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (11:25):
I think there's natural prioritization based on the, the BEAD program. So we have the roughly 150,000 locations across the state that we're hoping to connect through the federal programming, uh, or the federal program. And then we also wanna ensure that for access, for infrastructure access, rural parts of Illinois are getting access for the first time, um, understanding that industry is really covering other areas of the state kind of just through the free market. So we as government, where our motivation is ensuring that every Illinoisan has access to internet regardless of what the return on investment would be, um, wanna make sure that those rural parts of the state are being invested in. And I think a lot of the work has shown that when we are able to build out, use our state funds and our grants to build out to those rural areas, um, those communities can really thrive from, uh, a, a B&B, a bread and breakfast outside of, um, St.

(12:23)
Louis that is able to take online bookings for the first time to an apple orchard that can accept credit card payments for the first time, um, to like a small pottery studio that had been operating in a wooded area that now can run the Etsy store, you know, from her own studio as opposed to having to go into town. So I think for access purposes and connectivity, that's our, our biggest priority right now.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (12:48):
Yeah. The economic engine that it could just start with having that for smaller businesses and keeping small America going, you know, I think is just incredible. Uh, I've seen that over and over again. And, uh, I was gonna ask you what opportunities exist right now that maybe weren't there five years ago, and you kinda touched on that with BEAD, but is, are there any, is there anything else out there that you're, you really think, "Oh, this is a real opportunity for us now and we gotta really hit while the iron's hot?"

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (13:15):
It's a great question. So we have our Connect Illinois, um, program, which is our legacy broadband infrastructure grant, and those builds have been happening for the past four years or so. And so we are really making a concerted effort to make sure that all of those projects are successful because, um, those won't be eligible for this BEAD funding. Um, so ensuring that our current projects are successful, looking at BEAD, and then I know we see BEAD as, um, getting us probably 90% of the way to the finish line, but we really wanna make sure that throughout this process, um, we are capturing areas of the state that are maybe still not connected or otherwise left behind and will use the momentum of, "All right, we're 90% of the way there. Now let's get this last 10% so that we can really champion Illinois as a place where everyone has equal access to high speed internet."

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (14:14):
That's fantastic. Um, y - uh, some states had to stand up their broadband offices <laugh> when BEAD came out. So that's great that Illinois was already doing some really good stuff. Um, so talk, let's, let's delve a little bit into policy permitting <laugh> word I have a hard time saying, and deployment. Um, what are some broadband policy management? What, what does that look like for you day to day? Um, I know there's a big picture and you're, you're probably looking way ahead at all times, but w- what is a day in the life for you?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (14:46):
Absolutely. A day in the life is always a bit different. Um, so I do have a team of amazing, um, permitting and policy kind of specialists that are managing a lot of programs. And then I'm just trying to make sure that all of the trains are on the track and rolling. But I have a team member, for example, um, who is working a lot on utility locating or the process of being able to mark what's under the ground before construction starts. And she's doing really great work in trying to fix some of the systems around utility locating. Like if we don't have enough people to do the work, then how can we leverage the workforce that we do have more effectively? Um, and then we also have different folks working on what's called Dig Once. So really coordinating amongst all of the utilities, broadband providers and, um, units of local government when we're doing road construction to make sure that they're able to just open the road once for the road construction, allow all of these other parties to, um, manage their infrastructure or add new infrastructure while the road's already kind of open and under construction.

(15:56)
Um, and then we're not coming back, you know, in three years to put in something new when we could have taken advantage of the opportunity for the road to be open the first time. Um, and then on top of that, we have, uh, legislative tracking and policy tracking, really trying to make sure we understand what's going on at the federal level and how that would, um, impact Illinois and making sure that our systems are working, um, in a way that will allow us to easily integrate any potential legislation that might come down.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (16:27):
So really, you're really, it sounds to me that you're really approaching it in a way of let's, let's see what barriers are there and let's remove them or let's be more, um, aggressive in streamlining our efforts instead of coming back 25 different times. <laugh>

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (16:42):
Yeah.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (16:42):
Do I have that right?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (16:43):
100%. I think I'm really, and we're really trying to take an approach of systemic change. So looking at the root cause of an issue and going there first, and then where we can make those kind of core level changes, we see that as the real opportunity. Um, and then we can ensure that those changes benefit state funded programs, but also, um, private builds or other broadband deployment that's happening across the state of Illinois. By, by working at the root level, we're hoping that the system works better for everyone.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (17:19):
So, um, I'm struck by, you know, uh, there's not very many, uh, leaders of broadband offices, you know, there's 50 plus some US territories, of course. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, are you talking to each other and kind of sharing best practices with each other?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (17:33):
I would say definitely. We're in touch all the time, and I think we're really looking to each other for brainstorming purposes, what's working well over there, what's working well over here? Um, what is Illinois doing that we can share with all of these other state offices? And there are those 50 directors, but I think also as a, um, not a director, but a kind of policy manager, I have also found counterparts, um, kind of working in my same scope across other states as well. And through conferences, um, ongoing online meetings and just, you know, soft outreach, we've been able to accomplish a lot by being able to network with each other.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (18:14):
Yeah, I would imagine that it's, it's kind of a unique place to be for anyone in, working in those offices across the country right now with, uh, the opportunity to bead, even with its fits and starts <laugh> and a lot of different things, a little more understanding from the public about why it matters, all of that together. It's kind of a perfect storm in many ways. Um, so let's, um, was there anything else you'd really want the public to understand about permitting that I didn't bring up? Uh, as in, are there some common misconceptions or some reasons why it's important, um, from your point of view?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (18:46):
Definitely. I think permitting really dictates deployment and construction. It is the quintessential step that allows for a network to be well deployed. So, and I think the other piece of permitting that's really important is that it does create a necessary relationship between community and, uh, provider in the sense that if it's done well, you are working with maybe a, a local government or a town to say, you know, we wanna bring high speed internet to your town. We wanna do it in a way that works with your kind of expectations and standards and we're happy to build a partnership because ultimately we're gonna install this internet and then we want to be the internet provider for the people that live here. So I see permitting as kind of a great entry point into that long-term relationship building with a community and, um, a way to ensure that broadband is deployed responsibly, um, and that we are not seeing, um, sewage lines get hit or, um, electrical systems go down.

(19:59)
So I think permitting done well can really ensure that broadman is coming in as like a welcome addition to a village, a town, a county, um, and not a nuisance. And so I think the community aspect of it really can't be overemphasized and working in, hand in hand with the community to deploy broadband is, is critical.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (20:22):
I love that you're looking at it from a community, community side of things instead of just bringing in red tape or something like that. It's rather, it's in partnership rather than just doing two. Uh, I think that's fantastic. Um, so speaking of community impact, and we kind of touched on this with your, um, discu - with what you said about ACP, um, how do you define digital equity and its impact on communities, espec - I can't even say it's especially in, in Illinois.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (20:50):
Yeah. I think at its core, digital equity is, is the idea that everyone has the resources and the access that they need to safely and effectively engage online. Um, I think we say we want everybody to be able to engage in the digital economy. And so that is really beneficial for everyone involved. If everybody's able to equally access and effectively use the internet, that's a, that's a win-win-win for, for community, for government, for industry. So digital equity I think is paramount to making sure that, you know, all of this internet infrastructure and people being able to use it actually happens and why we feel really passionately about it in Illinois.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (21:33):
Are there, I know we met, we talked a little bit about rural areas, but are there other communities or areas that may be vulnerable to being excluded from access?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (21:43):
Absolutely. Yeah. We, I think most of them really. If, if, if you are maybe a middle income household in a well-resourced community that has quality broadband infrastructure, you'll be, you'll be fine, you'll be great. Um, but for most of the folks who don't fall into those areas, um, you're always kind of on the edge of being left behind by technology or by broadband infrastructure because it is literally moving at light speed. So having really robust infrastructure networks and then having the supports in place to make sure that folks can use those well, um, prevents that digital exclusion. It means that we're not continuing to talk about this, you know, 50 years from now or even 20 years from now. Um, but to name them specifically for communities that could be left behind or really vulnerable, I think we wanna acknowledge that, you know, low income communities, rural communities, um, communities where we know there's been historic disinvestment, you know, like communities of color or, um, areas where folks are coming out of, um, situations like incarceration, like those -

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (22:50):
Uh-huh.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (22:51):
<affirmative>. Communities are really at risk and we really wanna make sure that we meet the needs there because, um, a rising tide raises all ships. So if we're meeting the needs of those most vulnerable communities, everybody else benefits.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (23:05):
Uh, could, we couldn't agree with that more <laugh> at a Connected Nation. We definitely believe in that. And what role do you think some, um, anchor institutions, I guess, schools, libraries, local organizations, what role do they really play within this, in, in the state of Illinois?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (23:23):
They are everything. <laugh>. Um, they are the pillars of the communities across Illinois, and I'm sure across every other state as well, um, upon which, like, all of our support systems run. They're essential for, for digital equity, but also just community building and community supports in all areas. And the folks working in those systems, librarians, um, teachers and principals, folks working for local nonprofits, they know what community needs better than almost anyone. And so, um, we know that, they know that. I think, for me, most, most important is that they're well-resourced to be able, able to actually do this work, and they have the, the supports and the funding necessary to carry this off because, um, yeah, they're so pivotal and they can't do that work for free.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (24:12):
Well, let's talk about BEAD specifically and the next chapter, because if, I can imagine if Illinois was already taking some of this on, that there's, there's at least a long-term plan or some, some thoughts to that. So let's first with BEAD, what are the biggest opportunities BEAD presents for Illinois, and maybe what are some challenges that keep you up at night?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (24:34):
So the biggest opportunities, I think, for BEAD is that large parts of Illinois have what we call, like, really low density. There are not very many households for, um, the amount of land that there is. Illinois is a, a really big state, and BEAD is really exciting in that the, the market won't reach those households because the return on investment doesn't make sense. And understandable, if your, if your motives are being able to sustain a business and, and, you know, maintain profit, that makes sense. But for Illinois, for us, the, the motive is connectivity for all of those households. And so having the federal and state investment to make sure that those are all connected to high quality internet infrastructure through BEAD is really exciting and gets us so much closer to our mission of digital equity across the state

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (25:29):
I was just gonna ask, does, has Illinois thought about, you know, we were, uh, everybody was asked, all the states were asked just for the background of our, our listeners, to go back to the drawing board essentially for the benefit of the bargain and come up with, um, a cheaper or at least a <laugh>, um, maybe cheaper isn't the best word, but a, a less expensive option for covering the state. And rather than clawing back the remaining funds, it looks like, knock on wood, those funds are gonna go back to the states still. Has Illinois talked about what they'd like to do with any of that, that main, the remaining funds that were initially given to Illinois or initially set aside for Illinois?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (26:09):
I think we are looking for the guidance from the federal government to how we can leverage those funds. And then we are excited to use them to make sure that we are completely covering, um, the state and its needs through the BEAD program. Um, and we'll wait for the federal government to come out with whatever they think is permissible.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (26:30):
I understand. It's a, it really has been an up and down. It, it looked like everything was a go and then it was a pause and you get that, you have re - you have administration change, things change. Um, so I was just wondering <laugh> - Yeah. Everybody's been talking about what's gonna happen with the non-deployment funds. I think we can

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (26:47):
Say, I think we can say that Illinois has big dreams and we know the end goal and we are very excited to, um, use those funds to get us towards that end goal. And we'll get creative, you know, with everything

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (27:05):
Else. To get there.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (27:06):
Yeah.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (27:07):
Yeah. I get it. And, uh, so we, we talked a little bit about anchor institutions, but what about partnerships with, um, vendors and providers and those types of things? Uh, is, are you really having close conversations with the groups that are actually gonna be on the ground, in the field, putting the, putting the, the cables in or the, you know, the technicians, those types of people down on the ground?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (27:28):
I think our relationships with vendors and, um, industry folks has been really paramount to building a successful Connect Illinois program up till now and BEAD program. Um, and they understand very well how this works on the ground, and we wanna make sure that it is easy for them to do that work to the extent possible. So for every stage of the develop - or for every piece of our BEAD process, we have gathered feedback from those folks or, um, looked to them for their expertise in designing some of these programs or these application steps or these, um, implementation steps. And so, uh, it's great that they have a voice to make sure that, um, they're able to do the work that they do best and still meet the needs of the state. And the way that that, we've made that happen is through really open and trusted communication.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (28:26):
With all this money coming in and all this focus on broadband, o- obviously there's been a lot of talk about preparing to scale, getting ready, having the stuff you need, having the workforce you need, which is, brings me to my next question. You've really been hi - Illinois has done a good job of highlighting some of those broadband workforce opportunities. Why is workforce development so critical right now and such a po - important part of the conversation? And what kind of roles exist within that space?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (28:53):
I think the, I have a two part, a two part answer on why workforce is so important. I think from the industry side, we've heard from the very beginning, from those stakeholders that I mentioned before, both industry, organized labor, and, um, vendors that workforce was gonna be a huge bottleneck for BEAD. And I think now, post that kind of restructuring policy notice that you said reset the clock for everybody, um, everybody is moving roughly on the same timeline. So we already knew there was gonna be a workforce issue even when the states were kind of staggering their processes, but now everybody's moving at the same time and it's really gonna compound that workforce need. And so we have been planning for that from, from day one. But the second part of that is we really wanna make sure that folks in Illinois have access to these opportunities and are able to work in broadband because it, um, keeps folks in their communities, it invests them in building infrastructure where they live.

(29:56)
And Illinois has a number of workforce programs to make sure that We're bringing opportunity to the state and to Illinoisans. And so we wanted to meet both of those needs. We knew workforce is gonna be an issue from industry feedback, and we know that we wanna make sure that people in Illinois can work where they live.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (30:13):
What would you tell people that are considering entering the telecommunication sector? Is it something that's gonna have a long term, um, a long, uh, uh, you know, a long runway? There's gonna be a future opportunities there even beyond this?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (30:26):
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. I think broadband is a much bigger network of opportunity than I think you realize. I think what I learned from teaching is that folks, um, know the jobs that they can see. So when it comes to broadband, a lot of the times you might know the person that's coming to install the, um, wiring to your house, or you might know the customer service representative, or you might know the person that's, you know, you see somebody hanging lines on a pole outside or, or burying fiber in the ground. But what you don't see is that in order to get there, um, an engineer had to evaluate the area and then plan out a map. And then a permitting coordinator had to, again, work with the local community and fill out the appropriate permits. And then in some cases, a biologist had to come out and make sure that we weren't gonna endanger any, um, animals or insects in the area or disrupt anything environmentally.

(31:25)
And then eventually you get to the construction of somebody putting it in the ground or on poles. So the ecosystem of, of working in this field is so vast and you can be somebody who wants to work outside, you can be somebody who wants to sit at a desk. You can, um, you know, be somebody who's working in a fiber splicing trailer by yourself because you love the peace and quiet and you just wanna rock with some podcasts for eight hours a day. <laugh>. Or you can work on a team that's really thinking really creatively about how do you, you know, build a network of fiber lines that crosses a state, you know? And that's so cool. And I think there's really an entry point for anyone into this industry and that's the message we're trying to carry forward that this is accessible and there's a space for, for almost anyone to work in broadband.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (32:11):
Do you guys have a, um, website where you're putting all that stuff? Are you putting some opportunities or anything -

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (32:17):
We do.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (32:17):
That I coul share?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (32:18):
Yeah.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (32:18):
Okay.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (32:20):
So -

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (32:20):
If you wanna share the link, I'll put it in the description in our podcast.

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (32:23):
Yeah,

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (32:23):
Definitely. So you can access it. Yeah. Or you could even just tell us what the address is right

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (32:27):
Now <laugh>. Yeah. We are really grateful to have partnered with the, um, with Connecting the Heartland for their, um, workforce initiative. So they provided us with a, um, broadband jobs board that I will give you the link to. And through that jobs board, you can click into, um, Illinois and search by county, which companies are hiring in my county, um, and then get con - direct. Sorry. And then get connected directly to their website to apply.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (32:58):
Fantastic. We will share that so people can, uh, look at those opportunities. Now, I won't keep you all day, especially since you're gonna listen to it on one and a half times speed, so. <laugh> Um, but in, in your perfect world or in your team's perfect world, what would the broadband landscape look like for Illinois five years down the road, 10 years down the road?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (33:20):
So five to 10 years from now, I am hopeful that we see a Illinois that has a fully connected, uh, network of broadband infrastructure. And I also hope that we see that there have been investments through public and private money so that the industry sees a valuable investment and the government sees a valuable investment in making sure that folks can use the infrastructure that is built. So we have a robust system of, um, digital skills classes across the state and the support staff to help folks navigate getting a new computer or signing up for an internet plan. Um, and I hope that we really take seriously what does it take for folks to be able to, um, sign up for and afford their home internet subscription or a internet subscription for their business, um, and that we're living in a landscape that is competitive enough for it to make it feasible for that to happen.

(34:24)
Um, I think that's the dream.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (34:27):
That's, that's a good dream. <laugh> That's a very happy dream. Um, so Shauna, before I let you go, last question, I promise. What is the one key takeaway you'd like listeners to remember about your work and what's happening with broadband across Illinois?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (34:44):
I think I've mentioned before, Illinois dreams big. I think everyone in this industry can dream big. There's an incredible opportunity right now through Bead, but also through the expansion of broadband generally that we can take steps towards making these systems work better for the industry and work better for the communities that it's intended to serve. We don't need to, you know, keep muscling our way through or clawing our way through permitting or clawing our way towards, you know, um, libraries being able to set up a, a, a computer class. You know, there is a world in which, um, we can have public-private partnerships or programs at the community level that really support the full adoption of internet and use of internet statewide. So my message is really dream big. Um, no problem is unsolvable and we can keep pushing forward little by little.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (35:43):
Well, Illinois, Illinois is lucky to have you in your, their corner because <laugh> or its corner rather, um, because how do, how, you know, I know I'm pausing and, and, and asking you this random question, but is it Illinoisans? I, I though I heard you say, how do you say an Illinois person? How do you reference each other?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (36:02):
Yeah, we say Illinois. Chicagoins.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (36:05):
Illinois. Illinois. Chicagoans. Okay. All right. So I was, I was gonna say it right, but <laugh> - Yeah, you're nailing it. They're lucky. Those people are lucky to have you in their corner. I really appreciate your time today.Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (36:15):

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I'm always excited to talk about Illinois. I'm always excited to talk about broadband. So, um, I'm grateful to you for giving me a place to do that.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (36:23):
Well, we'd love to do a follow-up with you next year to see where you are in the process. So definitely let's talk again, okay?

Shawna Taets, Illinois Office of Broadband (36:29):
Yeah, happily.

Jessica Denson, Connected Nation (36:39):
Again, we've been talking with Shauna Tates, broadband policy manager for the Illinois Office of Broadband. We'll include links to the office and additional resources in the description of this episode. I'm Jessica Denson. Thanks for listening to Connected Nation. If you like our show and wanna know more about us, head to connectednation.org or look for the latest episodes on your favorite podcast platform.