Panelists agree: it's time for universal high speed Internet

Representatives from The Free Press, Communications Workers of America, the FCC, and both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's presidential campaigns came together recently to speak out about need for high speed Internet build-out policies. This consensus calling for build-out policies reflects the sentiments of the greater American public, according to a recent poll of registered voters. With respect to five different build-out policies recommended by CWA, nearly all are supported by more than two-thirds of respondents.

Support for Build-Out Requirements By Party ID

Require telecommunications companies to offer high speed access across their entire service areas, including low-income areas of the country

Percent that says "favor"
Rep. 74%
Ind. 73%
Dem. 81% 

Develop a set of standards and a reporting mechanism that consumers can use to evaluate the speed and reliability of the high speed Internet services on the market

Percent that says "favor"
Rep. 68%
Ind.  70%
Dem. 75%
 
Right now, there is not a clear understanding of what parts of the country have access to high-speed Internet. This proposal would create a high speed Internet map of the country to see where people do and do not have access and determine the speed and cost in each location

Percent that says "favor"
Rep.  65%
Ind. 67%
Dem. 75% 
 
Require telecommunications companies to offer high speed access across their entire service areas, including rural areas of the country

Percent that says "favor"
Rep. 64%
Ind.  66%
Dem. 75% 
 
Alter the Universal Service Fund, a fee we all pay on our telephone bills that was originally intended to expand phone service. In addition to using it to pay for expanded telephone service to rural and low income areas, it would now pay for expanded high speed Internet service to these same places

Percent that says "favor"
Rep. 63%
Ind. 59%
Dem. 70% 

The panel, entitled "Media reform and high speed Internet for everyone," was hosted as part of Campaign for America's Future's Take Back America conference and featured moderators Josh Silver from the Free Press and Debbie Goldman of CWA, as well as speakers Jonathan Adelstein, FCC Commissioner; Susan Ness, advisor to the Clinton Campaign; Julius Genachowski, advisor to Sen. Obama; and Steve Abbott, also from CWA. FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein was a surprise guest, explaining "Broadband is such a priority for me. I heard such a great group of leaders was coming out here, I had to join them."

"This is not about iPods and downloading music," emphasized Goldman. Among the examples of the importance of high speed Goldman highlighted was that of the person who suffers a stroke in rural Georgia. If the hospital the person is transported to is connected to high speed Internet, the local doctors can transmit images of the patient to far-flung stroke experts who can recommend giving the patient a dose of medicine that can be the difference between tragedy and eventual recovery.

Commissioner Adelstein explained that while high speed Internet isn't the top solution for problems affecting health care in this country, it is the third or fourth solution for health care as well as the third or fourth solution for a host of other issues, including public safety, education, environment, and access for people with disabilities. "Broadband should be the dial tone of the 21st century," said Adelstein.

Click here to read more about Hillary Clinton's high speed Internet policies.
Click here to read more about Barack Obama's high speed Internet policies.

Attitudes Toward a National High-Speed Internet Build-Out: Findings from a Survey of Likely November, 2008 Registered Voters (Speed Matters)

Session: Media Reform and High-Speed Internet for Everyone (Campaign for America's Future)

Deploy a Modern Communications Infrastructure (Barack Obama campaign)

Innovation (Hillary Clinton campaign)