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Document prepared by:
400 Old Vine Street, Suite 205
Lexington, KY 40507
In partnership with:
Funded by a grant from:
Steve Vail – The
ETL Group
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A Message from SKED’s Executive Director ................................................................................................. 2
Project at a Glance ........................................................................................................................................ 3
In-Depth Project Description ........................................................................................................................ 4
Broadband Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Budget .......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Economic Impact Analysis .............................................................................................................................. 9
Funding Best Practices & Project Opportunities ............................................................................................ 11
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April 25, 2017
Mr. Darrell Maynard
Eastern Telephone & Technologies
106 Power Drive
Pikeville, KY 41501
Dear Mr. Maynard:
Congratulations on the selection of your project, Teleworks Digital Employment Zones (TDEZ), as a finalist
for the Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED) Moving Eastern Kentucky Forward
with Broadband initiative. This Economic Development Administration funded project has brought together
the resources to provide a thorough evaluation of your proposal. Through this process we have worked
together to verify project cost, job creation, broadband connectivity, economic impact, and possible funding
sources. Through these analyses, SKED and our partners at Thomas P. Miller & Associates, MSE of Kentucky,
and Steve Vail – The ETL Group understand your project, job creation, and investment in the region.
The TDEZ’s are an innovative solution to bringing broadband connectivity to our smaller communities in
the region and helping to scale the Teleworks USA program in those communities. By working to bring a
fixed wireless broadband network to small communities like Wayland and Lynch, and partnering with
Teleworks USA for training and job placement, the potential to create 220 jobs where none existed before
is exciting. These 220 jobs will have a direct impact of putting more than $4.6 million in salaries into the
region and increase the gross regional product by another $3.7 million.
As Executive Director of the Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation, I support this
project and stand ready to work together to move this forward.
Sincerely,
Brett Traver
Executive Director
Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation
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KEY DATA Counties: TBD, 20 potential City/Community: TBD Unemployment Rate: TBD
Coal Jobs Lost <2 years: TBD New Full Time Equivalent Jobs (2,080 hrs/yr.) <2 years: 220
New Average Hourly Wages*: $10.15
Project Sector and/or NAICS: Telecommunications
Funding Request / Support Needed: $2,000,000
Private Capital Investment Committed: N/A
Site Infrastructure Cost: $1,500,000 Existing Building/Site Cost: N/A
Potential Funding Agencies: USDA
Contact Name: Darrell Maynard Phone: 606-432-0043 Email: [email protected] * Source: Eastern Telephone & Technologies and Emsi
Eastern Telephone & Technologies, in concert with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment
Program’s Teleworks USA and the Kentucky Highland Promise Zone, will collaborate to identify broadband
and employment-challenged areas where affordable broadband infrastructure can help create work-
from-home opportunities.
Upon designation, Eastern Telephone & Technologies will deploy fiber-fed broadband systems in 11 or
more small communities to build a targeted, affordable, high-speed broadband infrastructure. At this
time, the most likely top two initial communities would be Lynch in Harlan County and Wayland in Floyd
County. These communities would become Teleworks Digital Employment Zones (TDEZ), where Teleworks
USA would then promote, train, and place jobseekers in digital work-from-home jobs.
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Expanded Project Narrative – From Eastern Telephone & Technologies
Targeted Communities. Affordable Robust Broadband. Digital Work-From-Home Jobs.
As the region works to diversify our economy, especially in the wake of the loss of thousands of coal jobs,
it is a priority to fully capitalize on the economic and employment opportunities provided by the "digital
economy". In Jackson County, Kentucky, companies like People's Rural Telephone Cooperative (PRTC) and
Teleworks USA have demonstrated that an affordable robust broadband infrastructure creates a level
playing field for job seekers seeking work-from-home jobs.
The Teleworks Hub in Jackson County, one of Teleworks USA's six currently operating Kentucky Hubs, has
placed 249 job seekers into work at home jobs over the last 23 months. This success is contributed to the
pool of over 70 companies Teleworks USA represents for work-from-home job placement and PRTC's
deployment of an affordable broadband infrastructure that delivers minimum speeds of 15/15 Mbps. This
is unlike the typical 6/1 or 25/1 Mbps Internet service that most private sector telecommunications
companies, cable operators and Internet service providers offer today for average monthly prices
exceeding $75.
Most Eastern Kentucky communities have pricey, poor quality broadband because the return on
investment for the capital needed for the private sector to deploy better affordable broadband is too long
and too little. Jackson County is among only a handful of Eastern Kentucky counties that have invested in
the broadband infrastructure necessary for someone to be able to work from home affordably. This
presents a challenge and opportunity for the other counties within the Southeast Kentucky Economic
Development (SKED) service area that are not equipped with affordable robust broadband.
This unique public-private partnership seeks to bridge the digital divide and create jobs through the
Teleworks Digital Employment Zones (TDEZ) initiative will start with Eastern Telephone & Technologies,
Teleworks USA and the Kentucky Highlands Promise Zone working together to identify 11 broadband and
employment challenged communities where an affordable broadband infrastructure can be built to
create work-from-home opportunities. At this time, the most likely top two initial communities would be
Lynch in Harlan County and Wayland in Floyd County.
Eastern will then deploy a fiber-fed broadband infrastructure at a target rate of 25/25 Mbps delivery
speed to community citizens who would be able to use an affordable high-speed Internet connection for
digital work at home jobs. These communities would be certified as Teleworks Digital Employment Zones
(TDEZ). After a community is certified, Teleworks USA would promote, train and place jobseekers in digital
work-from-home job opportunities.
PHASE 1: Letters of Support - Currently, the TDEZ initiative has received 10 letters of support from Eastern
Kentucky communities and over 15 more have verbally committed with a letter of support to follow. After being
surveyed, the top 11 communities will be selected as TDEZ communities based on need and desire demonstrated.
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PHASE 2: Broadband Deployment - After the top 11 communities are determined, Eastern will perform
the engineering and deployment for the fiber-fed infrastructure that will consist of four components:
1. Broadband Gateway - This is the KentuckyWired connection needed to serve the TDEZ infrastructure and
is the gateway to the World Wide Web. Not all TDEZ communities will have access to the KentuckyWired
route immediately. In the interim, private sector alternatives will be used for this connection although the
end user pricing could be lowered after a KentuckyWired connection is available.
2. Backbone - Each Teleworks Digital Employment Zone (TDEZ) will require its own, much shorter,
version of the KentuckyWired fiber backbone through its community. Most of these fiber routes will
be less than one mile in length.
3. Last Mile - The last mile is the connection from the TDEZ community backbone and the dwelling, either
residential or business. To achieve a low monthly broadband price and target speed of 25/25 Mbps, the
last mile connection will be high-speed fixed wireless. As the need arises for higher speed connection, a
fiber drop could be available to most locations within the TDEZ community.
4. Continued Maintenance, Customer Service and Billing - Sustainability is paramount to the success of
this project. Eastern will continue the maintenance and support necessary for the ongoing operation
of this project.
PHASE 3: MARKETING AND RECRUITMENT - As each TDEZ is completed and certified, the community and
Teleworks USA will identify employment candidates from within the community through advertising, job
fairs, interviews, and other marketing strategies.
Traditionally, Teleworks USA has used Hubs for training facilities. For this project, a mobile training unit
will be the primary training facility used at each TDEZ community in combination with Hubs already in
existence. The goal is to recruit and train and average of 20 employees in each TDEZ community for an
overall goal of 220 jobs created.
Workforce Plan – From Eastern Telephone & Technologies
The Teleworks Digital Employment Zones (TDEZ) initiative will allow for not only the expansion of
affordable, high-speed broadband into single-family homes and multi-family residential units in at least
11 Eastern Kentucky communities that currently lack such broadband access, but will also allow citizens
to participate in focused, short-term training workshops in customer service, tech support, and digital
literacy as necessary when applying for and securing meaningful, remote, work-from-home employment.
The Workforce Plan for this initiative involves four features:
1. Certified Internet Service Requirement: Successful work-at-home employment requires broadband
meeting or exceeding minimum download and upload speeds of 10/10 meg and be offered at an
affordable price. TDEZ target speed and price is to provide a 25/25 meg connection at $50/month.
2. Personal cost savings: TDEZ's employment opportunities are geared exclusively toward remote-work jobs.
Individuals will work either full or part time, using their home computer, phone, noise-canceling headset,
and other related equipment. It is expected that an average TDEZ teleworker will save approximately
$3,581.16 in annual out-of-pocket costs associated with commuting. This figure is derived by reducing or
P a g e | 6
eliminating annual commuting expenses including gas and car maintenance ($809.16); professional
wardrobe, dry cleaning and laundering ($1,190); daily lunches and coffee ($832); and possible tax breaks
for having an at home office ($750) (Source: Salary.com, 9 Ways Working from Home Saves You Money).
3. "Bridging the Gap" in advance of coming broadband improvements: TDEZs bridge the gap between
the current lack of widespread, high-speed broadband availability and the coming KentuckyWired
initiative. Currently, broadband availability negatively impacts Teleworks USA's ability to expand.
Though all Teleworks Hub facilities have high-speed fiber broadband access, some of those Hubs are
located within counties that lack reliable county-wide broadband. This affects Teleworks USA's model
to train and prepare teleworkers in the Hubs, house them in temporary, short-term workspaces, and
later relocate into permanent home offices. Relocation opens those hub workspaces up to new trainees
and teleworkers. This is illustrated through the Hazard and Annville Hubs. Efforts at the Annville Hub
have produced 249 telework jobs since January 2015, yet only 5 people routinely work in that facility's
14 available telework workspaces. By comparison, the Hazard Hub has produced 124 telework jobs in
that same time, but that facility's 19 workspaces are full and have remained full for months-because
Perry County lacks reliable, county-wide broadband access necessary for relocation into home offices.
4. Telework employment in multi-family residential units: TDEZ will provide not only fixed wireless broadband
in single-family home, but also to multi-family residential units. To potentially avoid conflict with HUD
housing assistance, the multifamily focus will be on part-time and/or seasonal telework jobs providing
critical, supplemental personal income. Through TDEZ, these citizens will be able to work part-time telework
jobs in their home-office area in their housing units and build key work experience without loss of benefits.
Community Support Eastern Telephone & Technologies has documented declarations of support from the following community partners:
Dream Martin County Co-Chair, R. Eric Mills;
Henderson Settlement Executive Director, Mark Lemons;
City of Hyden Mayor, Carol Joseph;
Lawrence County Judge Executive, John Osborne;
Letcher County Judge Executive, Jim Ward;
Pike County Judge Executive, William Deskins;
Housing Authority of Pikeville Executive Director, Stephen Burchett;
City of Prestonsburg Mayor, Les Stapleton;
Red Bird Mission Executive Director, Kari Collins;
City of Wayland Mayor, Jerry Fultz.
These letters of support are available upon request. Additional support has been secured from the City of
Lynch, Martin County, and Meridzo Ministries.
All of the Teleworks Digital Employment Zones (TDEZ) communities identified, except for Pikeville, are
classified as "Distressed" counties by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and therefore qualifies
the project for the lowest local in-kind or funding match requirement of 20 percent.
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The Lynch site is over five miles from the nearest Kentucky Information highway (KIH) site. The Wayland site is
located four miles from the planned KentuckyWired backbone and would require a currently unplanned access
site on the fiber backbone. There is only one anchor institution in the Lynch area and none in the Wayland
area. Both project sites have a low business density. A positive note is that there are fiber assets to cell towers
in this area and this project is intending to utilize wireless with the backhaul over this existing fiber to cell tower
infrastructure.
Project Site Locations City County Nearest KIH Site
Locations not specified Lynch Harlan 5.9 miles
Wayland Floyd 4 miles
Description Score Connectivity/Access to KY Wired I-Way Current Fiber Assets in Project Area Anchor Institution Density in Project Area Potential Future Fiber Customers in Project Area
Scoring Notes:
Connectivity/Access: Green rating indicates access to KIH Site(s) is nearby. Yellow rating indicates
challenges in both distance and cost to access KY-Wired network.
Current Fiber Assets: Green rating indicates current or near term completion of fiber investments in the
project area. Yellow rating indicates a lack of current fiber assets in the area.
Anchor Institutions: Green rating indicates a high volume of anchor institutions within the project area.
Yellow rating indicates a low volume/number of anchor institutions within the project area.
Potential Future Fiber Customers: Green rating indicates a strong density of businesses within the project
area. Yellow rating indicates a low density of businesses within the project area.
Partnering with Teleworks USA to bring digital jobs to an at home work environment eliminates the need
for brick-and-mortar facilities. However, available, affordable and robust broadband is still required.
Jobseekers in the designated Teleworks Digital Employment Zones will need a fiber hybrid broadband
infrastructure that will deliver a target service and price of (both up and down) 25/25 Megabits per second
(Mbps), $50 price, and broadband Internet circuit connected to the KentuckyWired Middle Mile Project.
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Proposed Budget for the Teleworks Digital Employment Zones (TDEZ) Project: $2,000,000
Fiber Hybrid Fixed Wireless Broadband infrastructure = $1,100,000
Customer Premise Equipment = $200,000
Operations for 1 year = $200,000
o Marketing and Customer Care
o Broadband Gateway
Teleworks Facilities, Management & Training = $500,000
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Prepared by Thomas P. Miller & Associates
The project intends to create telework jobs for Customer Care Representatives, which would not require
them to report to any office. These will be mainly work-from-home jobs, which would require a computer,
a headset, and a fast broadband connection. Most Teleworks USA participants work for companies
headquartered outside of the region, and no data was available to estimate how many new jobs will be
with companies located within the region.
Therefore, the project’s primary form of economic impact1 will be through an increase in household
income for individuals, leading to an increase in consumption demand for goods and services within the
region, which will in turn result in an increase in sales by businesses in sectors such as hospitality, retail,
professional services, healthcare, etc.
ET&T’s application indicates the project will create 220 jobs with an average hourly wage of $10.15, or
$21,112 annually (based on 2,080 hours for a full-time equivalent worker). This would lead to an overall
increase in household income of $4,644,640. To measure this impact, the net increase of $4,644,640 in
annual salaries was proportioned using the distribution of households shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Household Income, Number of Households, and Share of Net Salaries2
Annual Household Income Number of
Households Share of Net Salaries
Less than $10,000 36,822 $1,300,499
$10,000 - $15,000 23,882 $836,035
$15,000 - $25,000 40,180 $1,439,838
$25,000 - $35,000 29,682 $1,068,267
Total 130,566 $4,644,640
Using the distribution of the increased income across households as specified in Table 1, the economic
contributions of these 220 Telework USA jobs was estimated using IMPLAN. The results of this analysis
are shown in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Economic Impact of 220 Telework USA Jobs Indicator Total Contribution
Jobs 30
Earnings $1,135,864
Output $3,703,223
As a result of the consumption expenditure associated with the 220 work-from-home jobs, the gross
regional product will increase by $3.7 million, which in turn leads to an additional 30 jobs and increase in
1 Analysis was performed using IMPLAN and Emsi. Details about the economic impact analysis methodology are available upon request. 2 2014. Implan was used to calculate the number of households meeting the annual household income.
P a g e | 10
earnings of just over $1.1 million. The job multiplier is 1.1, indicating each Teleworks USA job will generate
an additional 0.1 jobs.
While these remote work opportunities may not be high-skill/high-wage jobs or lead to direct or indirect
industry changes, the social impacts of these jobs merit consideration. Teleworks USA jobs require a short
training period and provide employment for individuals with barriers to transportation and those who
may need to work from home for other reasons. Job mobility and career advancement are also available
for those who excel in the entry-level occupation.
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Preparing a Federal Grant
Federal grant opportunities usually have anywhere from a 30 day to 90 day application release
date and due date window, therefore preparation is critical.
With the change in administration with the last election, some federal departments are shifting
focus, so it is also important to subscribe to relevant department newsletters (like EDA, DOL, etc.)
to receive updates on initiatives and opportunities.
o It is also important to become familiar with typical requirements funders look for with
application, for example: with EDA funding, several grant opportunities require
understanding the community’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)
plan and incorporating that as a foundation for development of new programming.
o It is critical for all grants, particularly for federal, to have the need for the project be based
in strong evidence of poverty, challenges, disadvantages, potential impact, etc.
Timeline: Federal grants are very complex and ask for very specific requirements. In an ideal
situation, it is recommended to abide by the following timeline bulleted below. The first three
bullets can happen simultaneously, but would recommend the grant writing process have
minimal overlap.
o Program Alignment and Development: 2-4 weeks
o Data collection and Review: 2-3 weeks
o Partnership Development: 2-4 weeks
o Grant Writing: 4-6 weeks
It is rare to find a federal or state grant that will award a for-profit, most federal agencies are
looking to fund non-profits, educational institutions, etc.
Federal Funds to Consider:
Economic Development Administration (EDA)
o Get to know your state representative who can help you throughout the process and be
an incredible resource.
Pamela Farmer
Economic Development Administration
401 West Peachtree Street, NW, Suite 1820
Atlanta, GA 30308-3510
404-730-3026
o When applying, incorporate the community’s CEDS Plan and make sure to have strong
partnerships with the economic development organizations for these applications.
Department of Labor (DOL)
o The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced that the agency will
no longer publish Notices of Funding Opportunities in the Federal Register. ETA will
continue to post the full texts of all ETA's Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) at
P a g e | 12
the government-wide Internet site, http://www.grants.gov, in accordance with the policy
directive issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). An applicant for funding
may access the full FOA associated with a synopsis posted at http://www.grants.gov by
following the universal resource locator (URL) link included in the synopsis, or by visiting
ETA's Web site at http://www.doleta.gov.
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
o According to their website, there are no opportunities at the moment, but all
organizations should get connected with their representative and regularly check the ARC
website to find out about new and upcoming opportunities.
o Get connected to the appropriate program director, and local representative.
Peggy Satterly
ARC Program Manager
Department for Local Government, Division of Grants
1024 Capital Center Drive, Suite 340
Frankfort, KY 40601-8024
502-573-2382
o Make sure to review ARC’s strategic plan in order to best understand how to align to their priorities
https://www.arc.gov/images/newsroom/publications/sp/InvestinginAppalachiasFuture
ARCs2016-2020StrategicPlan.pdf
o Review qualifications and determine the region’s level of distress. This will help
determine the required match.
https://www.arc.gov/appalachian_region/CountyEconomicStatusandDistressedAreasin
Appalachia.asp
Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA)
o Check in on their website for FY2018 Prospect when it is released. Here is an example
from FY2017
o Telemedicine Network Grants
United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA)
o Rural Business Development Grants
o The primary objective of the RCDG program is to improve the economic condition of rural
areas by assisting individuals or entities in the startup, expansion or operational
improvement of rural cooperatives and other business entities. Grants are awarded
competitively on an annual basis to Rural Cooperative Development Centers who in turn
provide technical assistance to individuals and entities.
Grants are due electronically by May 26th
Preparing for a Foundation Grant
Successful funding requests with Foundations are often connected to building a relationship with
a funder to best understand their goals, and how they align to your organization.
It is best to connect with a program director at the Foundation to understand their application
process. Some require letters of intent and then invite organizations to apply. Some have open
application windows.
13 | P a g e
Foundations also tend to have more opportunities to support capacity building and expansion
than federal funders.
Foundations to consider:
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Types of grants: Organizations may use grant funds in a variety of ways, including: o General operating support o Project support o “Glue” support for networks of grassroots and partner organizations o Organizational development support
Appalachia Funders Network
Since the Network formed in 2010, it has created the space and support for relationships to grow,
common analysis and vision to develop, and collaborations to form. It has generated five working
groups that build community capacity, leverage resources into the region, advance food and
agriculture systems, promote clean energy and protect natural resources, and support a culture
of health. Members recognize that the more relationships, common analysis, and vision we have,
the more we can align our strategies to make lasting impact on the root cause challenges holding
back the region from greater prosperity.
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Recommendations: As a multi-phase project that includes the assessment for designating areas to deploy broadband systems;
the process of laying the fiber; then trainings, it would be beneficial to consider the most effective way to
pursue funding for each phase. It is also important to consider who would be the best candidate for a lead
applicant. For the USDA grants, ET&T may be eligible, but for the implementation of trainings and the
Teleworks USA programming, it would likely be best for Teleworks USA (EKCEP) to apply and have ET&T
be a partner.
The most broadly fundable piece is the training and skills development, as there are several funders to
consider for this phase and will have a large impact on the communities. It is recommended to pursue
funding through the Department of Labor, ETA grants, or USDA. This application should emphasize the
opportunities for upward mobility into senior level positions within the technology sector. The average
wages may not be compelling to funders on the surface. To combat this, the applicant should think about
how to speak about what that kind of a salary means in the region and the opportunity for potential
growth. The best tool to support this narrative is through the utilization of socioeconomic data.
For-profit organizations are rarely eligible for grants so it is also recommended to have the lead applicants
be the city governments or a non-profit organization, where possible.
Potential Funders to consider for alignment:
USDA
City Connects Grant: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-connect-grants
o This program helps fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not
yet economically viable for private sector providers to deliver service. For more
information on other programs administered by RUS Telecommunications please visit:
http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/all-programs/telecom-programs
This opportunity is currently closed for this year, but would be one to consider
for the upcoming year if USDA releases the opportunity again- they have released
it in 2015 and 2016.
Rural Business Development Grants: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/rural-
cooperative-development-grant-program
o The primary objective of the RCDG program is to improve the economic condition of rural
areas by assisting individuals or entities in the startup, expansion or operational
improvement of rural cooperatives and other business entities. Grants are awarded
competitively on an annual basis to Rural Cooperative Development Centers who in turn
provide technical assistance to individuals and entities. This grant can be used for
feasibility studies, which would be an ideal use of funds to help ensure successful
designation of this project.
Grants are due electronically by May 26th
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Recommendations: As ET&T is a private firm, state or local economic development incentives may be possible. Most economic
development incentives require job creation of 10 net-new full time jobs (2,080 hours / year) or more, a
capital investment, and may be required to align with target industries. ET&T should work directly with
SKED on determining eligibility for potential incentives.
Commonwealth of Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development http://www.thinkkentucky.com/Locating_Expanding/kybizince.aspx