In a guest blog post, Sen. John Kerry asks for your ideas to repair America’s broadband failures and deliver a fast, open and affordable Internet for everyone. Respond to the Senator by commenting in the thread below. Senator Kerry will circle back to address some of your comments and report on developments in Washington.

By Sen. John Kerry

If you talk to anyone in Washington, there’s no disagreement that high-speed Internet access is critical to our economic competitiveness, and that a robust and competitive broadband market is key to an affordable and readily available Internet.

Guest Blog Post by Sen. John Kerry Join the debate

For small business, it is critical for the growth of their businesses and the creation of jobs. But everyone agreeing that something’s important doesn’t get the ball rolling in Washington, and there’s been precious little actual progress toward improving broadband penetration recently.

That’s why on Wednesday I will chair a hearing to explore the impact of a lack of adequate broadband access on our nation’s small businesses. We’ll be looking for ways to move closer to making broadband accessible and affordable for every American and every business. We’ll hear from advocates for greater broadband penetration (including Free Press’ own Ben Scott), and 2 FCC commissioners will be there, as well. You can watch the hearing live at http://sbc.senate.gov.

Speak Out About Universal Access

And, in addition to watching, please put in comments below your own thoughts, recommendations, and plans to improve broadband penetration. You spoke loudly about the need for new competition as the FCC considered spectrum policy. And you had great success.

So let’s keep your contributions flowing as we try to get a better Internet in this country. What are your ideas for helping the small businesses and all Americans get faster Internet access?

As activists on this issue, I know you don’t have to hear the statistics: more than 60 percent of the country does not subscribe to broadband service — many because they don’t have access to broadband Internet service or simply can’t afford it. Even in my home state of Massachusetts, a nationwide leader in technological innovation, broadband still has only reached about 46 percent of the public — and that’s the fourth-best rate in the country!

It’s almost hard to wrap your head around the fact that 7 years into this century, more Americans than not have either no Internet access at all or are still stuck on dial-up. It seems like so long ago that the buzzword was the “information super-highway,” but much of America is still bouncing down a country lane. That is just unacceptable.

Restoring America as a Broadband Leader

America’s Internet speeds lag badly behind universal standards. The birthplace of the personal computer and the Internet now has far worse broadband penetration than Europe and Japan. Without national broadband access, we’re throwing sand in the gears of our economy, placing a technological ceiling of job growth, innovation and economic production.

Small businesses — the backbone of our economy — won’t be able to fairly compete. The problem is especially bad in rural areas, and those are some of the areas most in need of economic development in this country.

Some experts estimate that universal broadband would add $500 billion to our economy and create 1.2 million jobs. We need to make universal deployment a national priority to keep America hooked into the increasingly fast global economy, but we can’t get that deployment without competition in the broad-band market.

Let’s Start the Conversation Here and Now

We need a national broadband strategy with a strong federal regulatory framework to encourage competition; companies won’t get there on their own. Competition spurs innovation, enhances service and reduces prices. And while we’re at it, we need to make efficient and widely available use of the spectrum, a valuable public asset. Much of our spectrum is underutilized, shelved and hoarded by selfish incumbents. Revisions to our spectrum policy must break open the locked portions of our spectrum to maximize that national resource. From drafting “white spaces” legislation to supporting fair spectrum policy, I’ve advanced and supported a list of measures designed to correct these market failures and increase broadband access.

It’s way past time for the country to get serious about this. President Bush has promised national broadband by 2007, and we are inexcusably, tremendously, scandalously short of that goal. Previous generations put a toaster in every home and a car in every driveway as signs of economic progress. To stay competitive, we should strive to do the same with nationwide broadband. Our economy, our businesses and our families are counting on us to deliver.

So, remember to put your recommendations below, and I’ll try to circle back after the hearing with another post about what I learned at the hearing and from all of you.

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SEP 27 UPDATE FROM SEN. KERRY
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Dear all:

Sen. John Kerry

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.-->