Bring U.S. Broadband Up to Speed

The Obama Administration's stimulus package to jump-start the American economy should include a crucial and relatively inexpensive program to improve the country's communications infrastructure. This would ignite long-term growth throughout the economy and close a serious technology gap between the U.S. and many other countries.

The U.S. desperately needs to catch up with global leaders in two areas of high-speed broadband communications. The first is extending the current world-class wired broadband service now used by big business, smaller companies, and consumers across America. The second is increasing the transmission speed and reach of wireless service to nearly everywhere in the nation. Achieving these two goals would bridge the digital divide between city and country and provide a powerful productivity tool to all sectors of society: private enterprise, nonprofit organizations and institutions, and every level of government. A federal stimulus plan should do more than just add jobs in the telecommunications industry.