Obama Adviser Eyes Government-Built Broadband System

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: May 27, 2009 9:11:14 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Obama Adviser Eyes Government-Built Broadband  
System

Obama Adviser Eyes Government-Built Broadband System
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
by David Hatch
<http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/cd_20090202_7042.php>

Officials have released an historic government plan to spend tens of  
billions of dollars constructing a nationwide, state-of-the-art  
broadband network featuring speeds 100 times faster than today's  
technology.
Looking For More?Read CongressDaily's TechCentral. See also the "Issue  
of the Week" archives.

The new infrastructure would reach every citizen, delivering  
affordable connections at taxpayer-subsidized rates, boosting access  
to education and telemedicine. Proponents promise myriad opportunities  
for online businesses and enhancements to energy efficiency, media  
distribution and public safety.

Haven't heard about this yet? That's because the announcement was made  
last month in Australia.

Before you dismiss the approach as a radical idea that could never be  
implemented here, consider this: it's being touted by a high-level  
White House official who reports directly to President Obama.

Susan Crawford, special assistant to the president for science,  
technology and innovation policy and a member of the National Economic  
Council, recently said she is "personally intrigued" by Australian  
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's ambitious goal.

Even with this year's $7.2 billion cash infusion from Congress to  
stimulate domestic broadband investment, experts acknowledge that gaps  
in availability and bandwidth will remain, with pockets of the United  
States left with no service or antiquated technology.

While a public broadband network in all or part of the nation could  
help bridge the divide, the thought of Uncle Sam so heavily involved  
with the Internet has some telecommunications industry representatives  
worried.

"No company can compete with the federal government or city hall in a  
commercial enterprise," warned Scott Cleland, chairman of  
NetCompetition.org, whose members include AT&T, Comcast, Qwest,  
Sprint, Time Warner Cable and Verizon. "The federal government has  
unlimited resources and regulatory control."

As the FCC prepares a national broadband strategy to be presented to  
Congress by Feb. 17, 2010, there's already speculation that the agency  
-- at the prodding of the White House -- will give serious thought to  
adapting Australia's model for the U.S.

[snip]
RSS Feed: <http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress>




-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com