Optimism about the Nation’s First Broadband Plan

March 30th, 2010

An article posted on ExecutiveGov.com discusses FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s positive outlook on the implementation of the Broadband Plan released March 16th. At a hearing on March 25, Chairman Genachowski testified about the plan in front of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. 

“Broadband is the indispensable infrastructure of the digital age,” he compares, “it is the 21st Century equivalent of what canals, railroads, highways, the telephone, and electricity were for previous generations.”

Imagining life without broadband might be as difficult to some as thinking about life without electricity, but there still persists a significant amount of Americans who do not adopt because they do not have access or the education to realize the relevance.  The FCC’s plan builds a roadmap not only to ensure that everyone has access but that everybody has access to the education needed to optimize broadband use.  While broadband may not seem as tangible as a telephone, according to a study released in March from the University of Washington and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, millions of people have come to rely on the computer for employment, health, and education to name a few. 

The benefits of broadband, like the benefits of electricity, seem endless.

The FCC Releases the National Broadband Plan

March 22nd, 2010

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission came out with its long-awaited National Broadband Plan.  The plan was the result of a mandate from Congress to the FCC to provide a road-map for connecting every American online via broadband.  The plan totals more than 300 pages, but the FCC offers a great summary of the plan here.

It is heartening that the government recognizes broadband and its benefits to be such an essential component of life that it is embarking on the goal of connecting all Americans.  Of the four broad objectives the plan lays out, it is impressive to see the goal of “updating policies, setting standards and aligning incentives to maximize use for national priorities”.  What that translates into is that the FCC recognizes the benefits to education, economic growth, health care and other daily tasks that broadband can provide, and is focused on making sure those benefits are achievable for all Americans.  Importantly, related to this goal, the plan includes “recommendations designed to unleash increased use, private sector investment and innovation in these areas”.  It is encouraging to see that the government also recognizes the vital role of private investment and policies necessary to encourage further build-out of broadband and digital technologies.

You can view the plan in full here.  Or to read the FCC’s announcement of the plan, please click here.

CDF hosts breakfast on broadband in Gwinnett County, Georgia

March 12th, 2010

Last Thursday, CDF hosted a breakfast for a group of business and technology experts in Gwinnett County. CDF Chair John Watson and Senior Advisor Chuck Clay led a roundtable discussion on how Gwinnett County can continue to engage in the future of broadband technology in Georgia.

Gwinnett has been a leading community in Georgia in attracting investment and technology companies. There was a robust conversation about how the growth of broadband deployment supports many industries in Georgia. Education programs, health care systems, and the state’s largest economic engine, agriculture, all depend on new technologies and innovation in order to operate and develop more effectively. Overall, there was widespread agreement that broadband access is increasingly critical in our lives and its infrastructure is becoming as important to economic development as transportation and public works.