Broadband a basic utility for 21st century
This appeared Wednesday in the Seattle Times.
The National Broadband Plan sent to Congress by the Federal Communications Commission is fundamental to the future economic well-being of the United States. Sounds grandiloquent, but it is really that important and basic.
Connecting 100 million American homes to high-speed Internet services will not only link the country to work, school, health care and public safety, but also stir innovation and investment to vastly improve the use and capacity of those online ties.
The director of broadband initiative at the FCC, Blair Levin, noted, “In every era, America must confront the challenge of connecting the nation anew.” In the 19th century that meant the railroads, and in the 20th century it was rural electrification and phone service.
The United States lags other nations in access to broadband capability and access to affordable networks and devices. One of the goals is to promote greater competition by increasing transparency for consumers on price, speed and availability.
Nearly a decade after the lessons and frustrations of the 9/11 attack, the plan will also give first responders” — police, fire and emergency-medical personnel” — access to a nationwide, wireless, interoperable public-safety network.
To build out this system over the next decade, the FCC will need more spectrum — the airwaves to carry the signals — and access to poles, bridges and rights of way to wire parts of the nation. Private carriers that have been slow to develop these resources ought to be compensated, but cooperation is a national imperative.
In the spirit of past efforts to unite all of America with current technology, the legislation seeks to ensure uniform access to services across states, rural areas and public institutions, such as libraries. Tribal lands are among the most underserved in the nation.
Putting national broadband into place will cost $15 billion and counting. The money is for a basic investment — and is more about catching up than racing out in front of others.
[Columbia Daily Tribune]
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