Currently, 92 million people are without access to broadband in the U.S.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is bringing a bold new plan before Congress on March 17 calling for up to $25 billion to be spent over the next 10 years.
The plan is born out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. As a way to ensure that America remains a major player in the world’s Internet technology (IT) market, the Rural Utilities Service has already awarded $895 million to broadband projects around the nation. In addition, the FCC is planning a nationwide wireless-fidelity network for emergency personnel.
Though many would argue that perhaps these funds are better spent elsewhere and the plan is too broad, I respectfully disagree. I don’t think anyone will argue that IT is not integral to everyday life in America. Any investment to improve our existing capabilities and to expand to “underserved” or “unserved” areas is an investment in the future.
Already the Internet is integral to business, personal and academic communications. Could any of us at this instant really imagine living outside of the information age? Our access to information and the revolution in the way we communicate is here to stay. And this century will see a great deal in terms of improvements and efficiency.
Many of us remember the “dotcom” boom and subsequent crash that threw the IT world into chaos for a few years after 2001. That can be looked at as a microcosm of our current economic depression. Much like the IT world, we will pull out of this eventually with the right decisions.
The IT industry is not going to go anywhere. There will be a great deal of returns from investments in IT infrastructure in terms of jobs created, educational opportunities, drawing in or expansion of current industry, and a more widespread adoption of current broadband technologies. The biggest boon is that with the expansion into rural areas that are currently economically depressed — weak points in the monetary fabric of our nation — this plan will bring a source of employment and industry to them, in turn strengthening the entire economy of our nation.
The broadness of this plan is what really receives the most flak, but honestly, for such a large and populous nation, how could a plan be drawn up that was not inherently wide-reaching and all-inclusive? In planning for the future and such a grand level of expansion, planning big is planning ahead. Planning too narrowly could end in failure as funding falls short and projects aren’t finished on schedule. Toss in the daily expansion of the Internet, and it just makes sense.
The $16 billion that would go to providing a nationwide network of radio interoperability for emergency and first responders will only make America a safer place. The FCC would like currently unused radio bands to be donated and used for this cause, which some ISPs and television broadcast companies are cold to. This is perhaps the biggest point of contention within this plan, and it would require more regulation of an industry that is used to flourishing within its own capitalistic devices. This part of the plan should be on its own in the event that it is rejected — leaving the rest of it to get ready to move forward on its own.
After all, the origins of the Internet within the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Administration Network) were primarily to allow communications and defense in the event of a nuclear bombardment. This idea of adapting the technology for civilian and research use was an afterthought. This is merely a rebirth of that initial concept from the 1960s but with the ability to communicate from anywhere in the nation, allowing for a much greater deal of flexibility in the event of a crisis. In terms of Internet defense on a national level, we are entering uncharted territories rife with questions about human rights and cyber security. Google’s plan to argue that China’s actions are a violation of human rights to the WTO is a precursor of heavy-handed decisions to be made regarding the future of net neutrality.
But before all that, as well as wide sweeping IT defense policies, research and planning, we need to get our infrastructure in order and boost our economy while we’re at it. If Congress approves of this plan, we’ll make the first steps toward moving forward with a steady stride further into this century and defend ourselves against the next generation of issues that are on the horizon. This plan is the right step for our economic and communications futures.
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