President Bush signs Broadband Data Improvement Act

A first hurdle to a national broadband policy was cleared on Friday, as President Bush signed the Broadband Data Improvement Act (S. 1492) into law.

The bill will provide for improved data on the status of broadband deployment in the United States by requiring the Federal Communications Commission to conduct yearly studies. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, authorizes a program of grants to support public/private public partnerships to stimulate broadband deployment and adoption at the state level.

The Speed Matters campaign has been working hard to make sure that the Broadband Data Improvement Act became a reality. We understand that in this time of economic crisis, the United States needs to invest in 21st century jobs and infrastructure.

However, the Speed Matters campaign and the Communications Workers of America know that the effort to build out affordable high-speed Internet and provide the economic engine of the next century is far from over:

• Congress must now fund S.1492 grants to states, so that states can move forward with mapping and stimulating broadband. This is even more important as states face fiscal crises of their own.
• Create a national goal of 10 megabits per second (mbps) downstream by 2010.
• Create a national goal of 100 mbps downstream by 2015.

Text of S. 1492: Broadband Data Improvement Act (Govtrack.us)