California Sets the Bar

Earlier this week we told you about California's Broadband Task Force – a bold new policy to close the digital divide in poor and rural regions of the Golden State.

Charles H. Giancarlo, a member of Governor Schwarzenegger's Task Force, spoke out in the San Francisco Chronicle about the importance of this statewide policy:

This is arguably America's most important infrastructure issue for global competitiveness. The massive productivity gains made possible by the first wave of Internet advances in this country will not be replicated with a second wave without universal, high-speed broadband access. This will benefit both the consumer and industry alike. The first wave of Internet technology was developed by U.S. companies because of our large domestic market demand. In the global marketplace, if we don't drive the buildout of Internet 2.0 here in the United States, the vendors who benefit from international buildouts, will likely not be here, reducing U.S. competitiveness.

A national high speed Internet policy with the same level of commitment that Giancarlo speaks about in California would be a tremendous step in the right direction.

San Francisco Chronicle: The Internet accelerates while U.S. trails behind