A new
report from the Pew Center on States suggests that the biggest obstacle to
bringing broadband Internet to Americans may just be Americans themselves.
While the majority of Americans currently have access to broadband at home,
suppliers are struggling to successfully bring higher speeds to rural areas and
regions with lower incomes. The report suggests that about 35% of citizens
cannot afford broadband, do not know how to use it, or find it irrelevant to
their lives. The report surmises that it’s this lack of accessibility that has
allowed the U.S. to slip in the global broadband per capita rankings from
number one in the year 2000 to 15th just last year .
Affordability is
chief among the concerns for the spread of broadband Internet. When the U.S.
was #1 in 2000, most Americans could get acceptable Internet access using
regulated dial-up or DSL phone lines. Since that time, deregulation of
Internet access providers has driven up industry profits, a major benefit
that companies are hesitant to risk losing by expanding to rural communities.
The result? A growing disparity in high-speed Internet access, with wealthy
urban and suburban neighborhoods on one end and inner city and rural areas on
the other. Consumers and companies alike have now turned to the government to stimulate
both supply and demand for broadband.
As Pew Center on
the States Deputy Director Lori Grange said today in unveiling the report,
“Broadband access is about much more than getting on YouTube.” High-speed
Internet access fosters economic growth, the creation of jobs, and global
competitiveness for the United States. In many ways, the broadband revolution
is akin to the electric revolution. Its growth is subject to local and cultural
constraints and attitudes, which is why states and state governments are
instrumental to the progression of high-speed Internet access.
CCIA has
advocated for public policies to support the broadband revolution since its
inception, encouraging greater access to open networks, improved productivity,
and economic growth. Grange pointed to the inspiring efforts of North Carolina,
which has developed an array of private-public partnerships through an
innovative state grant program. In 2007 and 2008 alone, the state’s e-NC Authority gave out over $2 million in
grants, resulting in educational advancement by connecting 15 school systems to
broadband, progression in medical technology by improving Internet and network
speeds in 10 regional hospitals, and the expansion of high-speed access to 10
of the most underserved counties in the state. These results are a testament to
the efforts of local officials and what that can mean for online access and economic
growth. And now, while the government continues to distribute $7.2 billion worth of stimulus funds in
support of universal broadband, the ball is in the states’ court.
