National high speed Internet policy wanted

BuisnessWeek recently called for a national high speed Internet policy in an column written by Bruce Mehlman and Larry Irving, co-chairmen of the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), a coalition of business and nonprofit organizations that is committed to widespread usage and availability of high speed Internet.

The writers argue that our leaders in government need to get beyond partisan and ideological warfare to bring the important advantages of high speed Internet to all Americans.

"The next President -- whether Barack Obama or John McCain -- has an extraordinary opportunity to ensure that all Americans have affordable access to broadband and the skills and knowledge to benefit from it. This must start with development of a national broadband strategy, a coherent road map of policies and goals that complement and accelerate efforts in the marketplace to achieve universal adoption of affordable high-speed Internet connections."

IIA announced that it is forming a group of Broadband Ambassadors consisting of executives from TiVo, Ciena, and VeriSign, and representatives from organizations such as ConnectedNation. The coalition will help raise awareness about the need for improving U.S. high speed Internet access and make policy recommendations.

It is encouraging that even more voices are joining Speed Matters in making the call for a national high speed Internet policy.

Wanted: A National Broadband Policy (BusinessWeek)

Connected Nation