Internet Child

Internet Child’s Play USA

What’s happening with six billion dollars in the stimulus package designated for expanded broadband access across America?

I would like to begin by saying I live in rural America with cell phone wireless access. Note, I am not calling my access "broadband" as my $75.00 a month bill tries to convince me that’s what I have. I don’t understand all the numbers, but if a 5 minute YouTube requires 8 to 25 minutes to load, I think it’s fair to say I do not have, nor can I purchase at any price, anything close to broadband. And I am far ahead of the vast majority of my neighbors.

We now know there is as much as six billion dollars in grant money in play. Last week the House Energy and Commerce Committee freed up 2.825 billion in grant money with little specificity and no apparent coherent plan. Though it is encouraging to read that stipulations protecting the idea of Net Neutrality were buried in the bill requiring open access remain intact when use of grant money is involved. Yes, the big Telcos were fighting neutrality and their ability to limit amount of data tooth and nail:

CTIA, an association of wireless companies, sent a letter to committee leaders Wednesday asking that the "vague, undefined, and unnecessary ‘open access’ obligation" be removed. CTIA said carriers will be reluctant to apply for the grants if they are uncertain of their open access obligations.

Who might be fighting neutrality or for the ability to maintain a chokehold on speed or quantity of data?

Potential recipients of the grant money include Internet service providers AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications and Comcast Corp.

Rural telephone companies could also apply, such as CenturyTel Inc, Windstream Corp and Frontier Communications Corp.

Now we also know the rural portion (another 3 billion dollars) sits the hands of the House Committee on Agriculture. A committee with a web page in desperate need of help. A search for the term broadband on their site returns nothing new in the last six months.

We know the Brookings people claim:

300,000 jobs are ultimately created per percentage point growth in broadband penetration.

Which quickly adds up and fits what many people consider to be imperative factors with stimulus spending, both short and long term rewards on our investments, in terms of energy efficiency, employment and educational benefits to name a few important reasons for expanded real broadband.

We know countries such as Japan:

Japanese carriers already offer 1Gbps fiber connections for prices as low as ¥5,460 (US$51.40) per month, and are already working toward 10Gbps connections.

While far too many Americans are still waiting for a dial tone, or busy pretending their broadband is actually some form of high speed service. When even cable customers are fighting chokeholds and other limitations at a time we should all be racing ahead of the rest of the world.

We need a coherent plan, implementing high speed infrastructure ready for the next 50 years, much like we once conducted ourselves with our electric grid or interstate highway systems. We need to dramatically raise the bar on broadband minimum speed while reaching for much higher speeds at the top end; not fight with lobbyists over how slow we can be, riddled with limitations instead of grand possibilities. We need Internet neutrality to be set in stone. After all it’s our money which financed the invention of the Internet, it’s our airwaves, imminent domain, taxes or monthly bill money which makes this possible at all.

Shall we lie back and think of Japan or at the very least demand we be able to compete with them?