Harvard’s Berkman Center: Broadband policy from around the world

Fostering the development of a ubiquitously networked society, connected over high-capacity networks, is a widely shared goal among both developed and developing countries. High capacity networks are seen as strategic infrastructure, intended to contribute to high and sustainable economic growth and to core aspects of human development.

Free Press: “Dismantling Digital Regulation

On a cold February morning 13 years ago, President Bill Clinton made history by signing the  Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law. It was the first signing at the Library of Congress and the first to be streamed live over the Internet. This symbolism was intended to capture the legislation’s promise of bringing  the information revolution to the doorstep of every American. As President Clinton signed a bill he described as “truly revolutionary” and that would “protect consumers against monopolies,” he spoke of the future the law would bring. “Soon, working parents will be able to check up on their children in class via computer,” he said. “On a rainy Saturday night, you’ll be able to order up every movie ever produced or every symphony ever
created in a minute’s time.”

Americans are still waiting on the promise of this digital revolution.

Congressional Research Service: The Evolving Broadband Infrastructure

Over the past decade, the telecommunications sector has undergone a vast transformation fueled by rapid technological growth and subsequent evolution of the marketplace. Much of the U.S. policy debate over the evolving telecommunications infrastructure is framed within the context of  a “national broadband policy.”

Congressional Research Service: What’s Different About Broadband?

Broadband network deployment projects represent large scale, long term investments that affect the overall productivity of economic activity in the geographic areas in which they are built, and thus fit the conventional definition of infrastructure. But they also have several characteristics that distinguish them from traditional infrastructure projects. These unique characteristics may dictate that government programs in support of broadband deployment be structured differently than conventional infrastructure programs.

US ranks 15th in ITIF’s composite ranking

It is hard to follow broadband telecommunications policy without hearing almost weekly that the United States ranks 15th out of 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations in broadband adoption. But it is much less apparent why the United States is behind. Indeed, relatively little work has been done to understand why some nations are ahead, and why some, like the United States, are lagging. By examining OECD nations through statistical analysis and in-depth case studies of nine nations, including the United States, this report attempts to do just that.

Slate: Jump-starting our tech policy

Perhaps the only thing that’s actually improved over the last eight years under President Bush is technology (if not tech policy). In the sense that Nixon presided over an age of great films like The Godfather, the Bush era was also the age of Wikipedia, search engines, YouTube, and Facebook. But the Bush system of benign neglect can only go so far, leaving plenty to fix as soon as the next president takes office.

A Framework For A National Broadband Policy

The report pulls together two sets of discussions and an array of background readings to outline a new direction for a U.S. national broadband policy. The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program convened a top-flight group of academics, policymakers, and industry leaders for two conferences — one on the Wye River in Maryland, May 17-18, 2007, and another in Aspen, Colorado, August 15-18, 2007 — to discuss the future of American broadband policy.

EDUCAUSE: A Blueprint for Big Broadband

The United States is facing a crisis in broadband connectivity. The demand for bandwidth is accelerating well beyond the capacity of our current broadband networks, especially as video traffic and home-based businesses become more prevalent. In the very near future, members of a single family will be watching HDTV video at the same time that they engage in remote health monitoring, videoconferencing, gaming, distance education class lectures, and social networking. Moore’s Law, as well as several studies of future Internet growth, predicts that homes and businesses will need a minimum of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) of capacity within the next three to five years and will need even greater capacity going forward.

Science Progress: The Case for Federal Investment in Broadband

The United States will not meet President Bush’s goal of universal broadband by the end of 2007—not by a long shot. The number of subscribers to Internet services is growing faster than the adoption of “dial-up,” yet for the most part these subscribers are not connected to the broadband technology Congress described in 1996 as a two-way communications service capable of high-speed delivery of data, voice, and video.

The ‘ConnectKentucky’ Model: A Limited Step in the Right Direction

Many interested parties have asked me to comment on the emerging controversy surrounding ConnectKentucky/Connected Nation. The controversy involves the extent to which CK/CN is fulfilling its promises. But in my opinion, we should be focusing on an even more important question: What role should “the CK model” play in America’s broadband policy?