What a national high speed Internet policy should look like

On Tuesday, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) held a discussion on the need for a national high speed Internet policy and what such a policy should look like. ITIF's president, Robert Atkinson, kicked off the event with a discussion of his new paper, "Framing a National Broadband Policy."

Atkinson's main point was that by now, most people agree on the value of high speed Internet and the need for expanded access, and we should turn our efforts toward figuring out how we achieve the goal of universal access. As he said,

"I think it's time we move beyond this argument of "should we have a national broadband policy or shouldn’t we." That debate is largely over internationally. Virtually every other advanced country has explicit proactive national broadband policies. We're the only country that doesn’t. I think the question is whether we have the political will to move beyond largely ideologically fights and bickering to get on with the task, which is to get faster broadband and get it to more places and more people."

A national universal high speed Internet policy, Atkinson said, must feature three broad goals. For one, it must promote equity, meaning high speed Internet for all regions of the country and households all across the socio-economic spectrum. A high speed Internet policy must also achieve efficiency and productivity by creating faster speeds at lower cost. And finally, it must embrace a kind of populist empowerment in which the policy fosters low prices and competition.

Atkinson mentioned an array of specific programs that would be valuable parts of a comprehensive national policy. He cited the success of Connect Kentucky at developing a map of statewide high speed Internet coverage, and encouraged open mapping efforts like the state-by-state map developed from the thousands of Speed Matters Speed Tests taken nationwide.

Among the other proposals suggested by Atkinson were tax incentives, more loans for high speed Internet investment, raising of the FCC's definition of "high speed," and the development of new applications for high speed Internet that would increase demand among non-subscribers.

You can watch a video of the entire discussion here.

The thrust behind Atkinson's call for a comprehensive national high speed Internet policy comes from his conclusion that market forces alone cannot provide the appropriate amount of high speed service our country needs. As he argues in his paper,

[While] a host of other exciting digital technologies have recently been introduced, and there is no talk of an Xbox gap or a national MP3 player strategy. On the other hand, broadband is unique in that the social returns of broadband investment exceed the private returns to companies and consumers. Therefore, market forces alone will not generate the societally optimal level of broadband in the foreseeable future.

Atkinson then cites a number of "positive externalities" or societal benefits of high speed Internet that go beyond the individuals using the technology. These externalities -- which Atkinson detailed in a previous paper -- include increases in consumer and business productivity, competitiveness in the international economy, and encouragement of further innovation.

Because of all these benefits, society -- and the government -- have a major stake in expanding and improving high speed Internet access. As Atkinson concluded,

For most market-oriented conservatives, the correct amount is the amount that the market provides. Yet, because of significant positive externalities from broadband, the right amount—the amount that maximizes social welfare—is in fact greater than the amount the market alone provides. This means that active public policies to spur broadband, in addition to policies to remove barriers to deployment, are critical to ensure the best possible broadband future for the United States.

Framing a National Broadband Policy (ITIF)

High speed in the blue grass (Speed Matters)
 
ITIF Forum: Framing a National Broadband Policy (Google Video)

Speed Matters State-by-State Report (Speed Matters)

A Clear Case for a National High Speed Internet Policy (Speed Matters)