Congressmen back $6bn broadband investment
By John Lister
A congressional committee has approved plans to spend $6 billion to build broadband networks in rural areas. The spending now takes its place in part of the overall $825 billion stimulus package going through the lawmaking process.
The thumbs up comes from the Committee on Appropriations, which determines how much the government is allowed to spend in any particular area. In a summary of the spending plan, chairman Dave Obey (pictured) said it would allocate:
… $6 billion for broadband and wireless services in underserved areas to strengthen the economy and provide business and job opportunities in every section of America with benefits to e-commerce, education, and healthcare. For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.
The logic appears to be that people in rural areas could get broadband access, allowing them to take on telecommuting jobs or work on home businesses. The high-speed internet access could also be used for distance learning or remote medical advice from specialists.
The broadband plans aren’t guaranteed to go ahead yet as they are simply one part of a much larger bill for federal spending designed to stimulate the economy. Once each section has been reviewed by the committee, Congress as a whole will vote on the final bill.
The committee backing is for the principle of the broadband spending and the exact details are still open to debate. Officials will need to decide what, if any, restrictions to place on private firms involved in providing services through the network.
Free Press, a pressure group promoting media reform, has written to the key politicians involved urging that firms using the networks be made to follow net neutrality principles by not restricting any legal content.
According to the Washington Post, the Obama government would not expect the $6 billion spending to achieve its target of everyone in the country having access to broadband services; that would instead be a long-term goal.
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Stumble It!
January 16th, 2009
I guess the next step is to give them computers. This is noble in theory, but stupid. Is Congress going to pay for upkeep? This money would be better spent on wireless providers tower and pcimcia adapters.
More underutilized fiber.
January 16th, 2009
Please stop using “broadband” and “high speed internet access” interchangeably.
They are not the same thing. DSL is considered broadband. But nobody would consider DSL to be “high speed.”
Equating “broadband” with “high speed” is like equating a land line phone with a cell phone. One is old technology the other is newer.
ConnectedNation.com is one of the leading prevaricators of making the two equal in the mind of the public. ConnectedNation is backed by telecos – who bring DSL to your home.
Don’t be duped. Stop using the word “broadband” or else define your term by attaching a minimum download/upload speed.
January 16th, 2009
I can get 6meg DSL where I live. Which Comcast office do you work at?