Call to Action for a Broadband Strategy

Following are remarks by President Larry Cohen, Communications Workers of America, at a Capitol Hill forum on broadband strategy. Cohen joined top officials from a diverse group of communications providers, technology companies, public interest and consumer groups, state and local governments and others who have signed on to the call for action for a national broadband strategy.

The Communications Workers of America is pleased to be part of this broad Call to Action for a Broadband Strategy. A national broadband strategy is absolutely essential to America's economic future, job creation, and our nation's security. 

This Call to Action statement is important because of the range of groups that have joined together with a shared commitment to bring affordable broadband to all Americans.  High speed Internet is the backbone of the 21st century economy.  Yet, the U.S. trails the rest of the world in broadband speeds. We rank 15th among OECD nations in the average speed of Internet connections and in the percentage of households that subscribe to broadband, and we rank 18th in the world in the price we pay per megabit connectivity.  The current definition of broadband speed in the U.S. is 768 kilobits per second downstream, which is significantly below worldwide standards. 

In CWA's work we believe we need to link incentives for higher broadband speeds as well as provide investment and demand incentives for underserved areas.  We've endorsed Senator Rockefeller's goal of 10 megabits per second downstream by 2010 and believe we will need 100 megabits per second for the long run. Making progress toward these goals will require significant investment that will pay off with substantial increases in productivity.  Our public policies must encourage private sector investment in high-speed networks, while recognizing the need to preserve an open network and permit reasonable network management.

In this period of economic crisis, the policies outlined in the Call to Action statement will have an immediate impact stimulating employment as well as offering extensive economic and social returns for the long run.

We calculate that a $5 billion increase in broadband investment would directly create 100,000 new jobs in telecom and IT in the year in which the spending occurs. (Department of Commerce model.)

At the same time, a $5 billion increase in broadband investment that successfully increases broadband penetration by seven percentage points would result in 2.4 million new jobs throughout the economy. (Brookings Institute)

To obtain these benefits, CWA urges Congress and the Obama administration to include broadband polices as part of the economic stimulus package, including the following:

• Fund S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act, to enable states to map broadband infrastructure and fund demand stimulation. Mapping broadband infrastructure is essential to target limited resources. This bill has already been signed into law but without funding.

• Adopt specific tax incentives, loans and direct grants to stimulate investment in underserved areas and in next generation high speed networks.

• Fund specific programs to stimulate broadband adoption by improving digital literacy as proposed by our partner, the Alliance for Digital Equality among others, and increasing computer ownership.

Together we can return our nation to global leadership in high-speed networks. Speed Matters.