Decay and Desire
In Wisconsin, as in the rest of the world, there are those that create, those that follow, and those that obstruct. Just as the candle originates the light, the mirror reflects it, and the brick wall blocks it, the fate of a community depends upon the category to which its leaders belong.
There is a dynamism associated with telecom initiatives in some of our neighboring states that highlight capabilities and capacities not realizable in Wisconsin. We have blocked universal broadband integrated access here for political reasons, and have sunk our tax money into 8-figure failed projects such as centralized E-mail, state-run application servers, and inappropriate personnel management software (these fiascoes have been extensively covered in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
Up to now, those that plan our network future have been secure in the knowledge that telecom issues do not fit on a bumper sticker, and consequently do not appear on the voter’s radar. But even as we block effective telecom migration strategies, our citizens know a good thing when they see it, and are turning to Minneapolis to the west and Chicago to the south to find partners for their strategic alliances.
The University of Wisconsin, for instance, is connecting the University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois to its four-year campuses with grant and technology assistance from the Midwest Higher Education Consortium and other outstate resources. Gateway Technical College looks to northern Illinois for its fiber initiatives, eschewing Badgernet, even as Chicago’s Metra commuter train now picks up riders in Kenosha, and will soon be doing the same in Racine.
“Foul!” cry our politicos, “these states are feeding like buzzards upon the extremities of our body politic”. If so, there is only one cause for our technology decay, and that’s our own archaic procurement policies (see Badgernet.org archive for March 2007). However, many of us believe we have not completely turned to carrion; while we may be decadent at our core, there are still some stubbornly productive citizens who are looking for alternatives. Of course, this will transfer the candle-lighting initiative to other jurisdictions. Our technology users will be dancing to Minnesota’s and Illinois’ tune.
So what do we do, short of a change in administration? The same thing anyone does who is not getting what they need at home: look elsewhere for satisfaction, and when the opportunity presents itself, lie back, enjoy it, and think of England.