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USDA: “Broadband Internet’s Value to Rural America”

As broadband—or high-speed—Internet use has spread, Internet applications requiring high transmission speeds have become an integral part of the “Information Economy,” raising concerns about those who lack broadband access. This report analyzes (1) rural broadband use by consumers, the community-at-large, and businesses; (2) rural broadband availability; and (3) broadband’s social and economic effects on rural areas. It also summarizes results from an ERS-sponsored workshop on rural broadband use, and other ERS-commissioned studies.

Economic Stimulus Analyses and Related Matters

Federal Developments 2009-2010

Round Two

Round One

Key Stimulus Websites

Original Sources

Samples of Baller Herbst Analyses

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Section 6001(k)

Section of Reinvestment Act wherein “) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, a report containing a national broadband plan.”

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.

State Developments 2007-08

Examples of opposition to North Carolina HB 1587:

Peregrine an economic windfall for the Cedar Valley

Peregrine Financial announced its intention to move the company headquarters from downtown Chicago to the Beaver Hills area of Cedar Falls. The project is expected to have a total economic impact of $124 million per year, thanks in large part to the Peregrine executives who are expected to move with the headquarters and their average yearly compensation of approximately $200,000 each.