Communities may be leaving an awful lot of money on the table for funding broadband because they're not going to the most logical money source on the planet - the bank. Stearns Brothers & Co Senior VP Aaron Gadouas explains that approaching banks and other tradition financial institutions is a viable option that more communities should explore.

Critiquing the nine business models presented in Craig Settles' Building the Gigabit City (Chapter 5), Gadouas lays out tactics for preparing your community to take it to the bank and get financing:

*  securing credible memoranda of understanding

*  pre-selling network service subscriptions

*  leveraging support from local banks and credit unions

*  avoiding obvious and not so obvious pitfalls

Mr. Gadouas, with 15 years experience in corporate finance and new product development, is widely recognized for his track record of innovation that includes creating a public-private financing program for healthcare organizations. At a recent Kansas City conference, he presented government and private sector organizations with a game plan for financing broadband infrastructure.