Rich Fiscus
25 Jun 2008 16:31
A report commissioned by the e-NC Authority in North Carolina has dire warnings for the future if the US continues to fall behind other western nations in broadband internet deployment. It explains how the US has fallen behind so many other countries and characterizes it as a necessity for competing in the modern world rather than being a luxury along the lines of cable television.
"If the United States wants to preserve its high standard of living and quality of life, it must rapidly prepare its workforce to move up the value chain to knowledge-based jobs that can command the high wages that Americans have come to expect. This will require improvements in many areas, especially to our educational system and our advanced communications infrastructure," says the report.
The document proposes a remedy to the US' leadership void. It suggests the country needs a national plan to make 100Mbps internet connections available across the country by 2012, and 1Gbps connections by 2015.
Additionally it suggests that local governments be encouraged to establish their own networks if telecommunications companies don't step up to the challenge. They use the example of early deployment of electric service, when privately owned utilities didn't consider many small towns or most rural areas worth serving. Communities were forced to create public utilities of their own to fill the gap.
This last point in particular has been a major point of contention for the telecommunications industry. In some cases they've even gone so far as to sue municipalities to keep them out of the broadband internet business.
However, as the report accurately points out companies who aren't facing serious competition from newer services like Verizon's FiOS don't seem to see any compelling need to improve their networks. If you believe the report's conclusions on the importance of the internet you almost have to agree that ISPs aren't doing enough.
As the report states, addressing the issue requires thinking big, adopting high goals, and acting boldly. Anything less seems like a waste of precious time and resources.