A Clear Case for a National High Speed Internet Policy

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) just released a terrific paper laying out a comprehensive argument for universal high speed internet access. "The Case for a National Broadband Policy," by Robert D. Atkinson, lays out a series of specific reasons that our government should do more to promote expansion of high speed internet access to all Americans.

Atkinson argues that high speed internet has a host of positive "externalities," or benefits that spill over beyond the direct users of the technology. He divides them into four categories:

• Network externalities are the benefits created when a service is used by more people. For example, telephone service became more valuable to consumers as more Americans acquired service. Moreover, expanded high speed internet use spurs the development of more applications that harness the technology, like IPTV, VoIP, and telemedicine.
• "Prosumer" externalities make U.S. consumers more efficient and productive. Ecommerce, for example, cuts time and resources out of buying and selling, while telecommuting makes workers more productive and cuts down on traffic and pollution.
• Competitiveness externalities help U.S. companies – especially those in the Information Technology sector – compete with companies around the world in the global economy.
• Regional externalities can help less-populated parts of the country grow their economies and increase their quality of life, while at the same time reducing congestion and cost of living in more densely populated areas.

Because high speed internet provides benefits far beyond its immediate users, Atkinson argues that the market alone cannot be left to determine the proper amount of high speed internet access available.

[T]he real issue is not whether broadband is good and more is better, but whether the market alone will provide the right amount of it. What is the right amount? For most market-oriented conservatives it’s the amount the “market” provides. Yet, because of significant positive externalities from broadband the right amount – the amount that maximizes social welfare – appears in fact to be 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 ensuring the right broadband future for America.

Indeed, more and more lawmakers are beginning to take this view. Once recent example is Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, who introduced a resolution last month that calls on Congress and the President to work together to develop a national policy for high speed internet.

Rockefeller's goal is universal 100 mbps access across the country by 2015, and although his resolution is nonbinding, it’s a step in the right direction toward the national policy advocated in Atkinson's ITIF paper.

Only when such a national strategy is in place will the U.S. truly reap all the benefits of high speed internet.

The Case for a National Broadband Policy

With liberty and 100 megabit/second broadband for all (Ars Technica)