FCC Commissioners stress benefits of high speed for small businesses

During a hearing with the Senate Small Business Committee in early October, FCC Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps argued that improving high speed Internet access across the country would help small businesses and boost the American economy.

In order to realize the many benefits of universal high speed Internet access, the federal government must take a leading role:

"You need tax credits, you need grants, you need the universal service fund," Adelstein said. "You need the FCC to promote incentive policies and opportunities to invest."

Copps added that White House leadership is crucial to this effort:

"I think a speech from on high saying that this is the infrastructure challenge of the 21st century," he said. "A goal is always welcome, but it has to be accompanied by a strategy and informed tactics."

The FCC commissioners also offered some suggestions on measures to help us achieve universal high speed Internet access, calling for a ConnectAmerica program modeled after the successful ConnectKentucky program that vastly increased the percentage of Kentuckians with access to high speed Internet. Like ConnectKentucky, a ConnectAmerica effort would begin with improving data collection, they said, since we cannot fix the problem if we do not understand the full extent. And right now, we are definitely in the dark:

"Our current efforts are woefully out-of-date and out-of-whack," Copps said. "We need a more credible definition of speed [than the current 200 kilobits per second for broadband] and more granular measures of deployment, as well as to start gathering data on price and the experience of other nations."

One way to collect better data has been proposed by Senator Daniel Inouye. The Broadband Data Improvement Act would require the FCC to raise the definition of high speed Internet connections and to collect data down to nine-digit zip codes, as opposed to just five-digit zip codes. Passage of this bill would be a major first step toward bringing high speed Internet access to all Americans.

Where is Our National Broadband, Senate Asks (PC Magazine)

High speed in the Blue Grass (Speedmatters.org)

Senator Inouye Introduces Broadband Data Improvement Act (SpeedMatters.org)