Taking Broadband Infrastructure for Granted
The San Francisco Chronicle just published a piece by Michael Kleeman that makes a strong argument for a national high speed internet policy that drives us toward universal access to broadband.
"Without investments in broadband infrastructure--not only will consumers suffer--but we will experience a creeping lack of competitiveness, job loss and the gradual ceding of our Internet leadership to other nations. And one day, in the not too distant future, two people in a garage in the United States won't start the next great Internet company--because two people in a garage in South Korea or France or the United Kingdom already have."
Kleeman, a Senior Fellow at USC's Annenberg School of Communications, points out that in the last five years we have dropped from 4th to 15th on the OECD's internet competitiveness ranking. He believes that the Internet's infrastructure doesn't get the attention it deserves because we can't see it.
"In our industrial and information society, our daily lives depend on things we take for granted: electricity, fresh water, communications and our road system. The infrastructure underlying each has a limited useful life and is designed to meet the future demand expected when deployed.
But demand changes, and without proper planning and investment all infrastructure will eventually fail."
Kleeman recognizes that planning and investment cannot happen on a piecemeal basis.
"A national broadband policy is an essential part of the formula. A central component of this policy must drive us toward universal access to broadband. High speed Internet access is not a luxury, but should be considered a necessity for members of a developed country. We need ubiquitous broadband penetration in the United States if we intend to claim leadership in the next Internet age."
That's the message that Speed Matters is taking to the halls of Congress, to the presidential campaigns, and to all Americans.
OECD – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
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