Obama Announces Plan To Expand Broadband Internet Across U.S.

McClatchy:

More than a year after Congress passed the economic stimulus package, President Barack Obama announced that $795 million of that money will go toward expanding Internet access across the country to provide jobs and improve communication.

Obama's plan, announced Friday, will allocate more than $1 billion for installing broadband Internet across the country.

Read the whole story: McClatchy

Comments

[MyAIC]

05:05 PM on 07/14/2010

With All Our Economic Woes, Does It Really Make Sense to Spend on High-Speed Internet?

The $7.2 billion that the federal government allocated for broadband expansion through the Recovery Act will bring high-speed Internet service to areas that were previously served only by dial-up (or not served at all). It's easy to sound flippant about that, but widespread (if not universal) access to broadband is really important. A study by Brookings Institution revealed that:

-"Digital infrastructure is vital to long-term economic, social, and civic development. Similar to highways, bridges, and dams, broadband and wireless represent infrastructures that make it possible for businesses to stay connected, innovate, and create jobs."

-"A study of 120 nations between 1980 and 2006 undertaken by Qiang (2009b) estimates that each 10 percentage point increase in broadband penetration adds 1.3 percent to a high income country's gross domestic product and 1.21 percent for low to middle-income nations."

As the president said as he announced the 66 most recent broadband grants, "Once we emerge from the immediate crisis, the long-term economic gains to communities that have been left behind in a digital age will be immeasurable."

http://www.arizonaic.org/blog/264-arizona-gets-nearly-16-million-to-expand-high-speed-internet-service

[farmilyman]

01:13 AM on 07/07/2010

The GOP is worried that people outside of cities will start to get their information from other sources beside Rush, Faux, and conservative Churches.

[flashblitzen]

09:23 AM on 07/06/2010

I guess 500 temporary jobs created is better than nothing. My real hope was to catch up to Korea and franchise "pc bangs" like they did 4 or 5 years ago. Got to love Korean bandwidth.

[dissanayake]

11:14 PM on 07/05/2010

I had no idea that the entire country wasnt covered by Broadband, Having travelled to third world countries that have more sophisticated IT systems than US- one has to wonder if the country that breeds the inventors of technology, is capable of providing unfiltered access to the entire nation, One would have thought that it was an Inalienable Right of all school going children and college students.

[iblogleft]

02:09 PM on 07/05/2010

Strange...

All these programs that use tax dollars as investment capital, yet we have no contracts or guarantees that our investment will return anything for us. We only know for certain that private corporations will turn around and sell our own investment back to us at outrageous profit margins.

How cool is that? More social investment into privatized profits. Sounds all too familiar. I think we are about to do the same with energy infrastructure.

[amdezurik]

04:55 PM on 07/05/2010

government is not-for-profit.

[Lordcron]

08:39 AM on 07/05/2010

It should be a no brainer. Finland just signed into law that Broadband Internet is a right to all it's citizens. A right! How cool is that. You know how long it's gonna take for America to come around to the idea of it being a right? Let's just say I won't be living anymore that's for darn sure.

[MagCynic]

06:47 PM on 07/05/2010

Finland is stupid. There. I said it. You can't create rights. Rights are inherent to our existence. I exist, therefore I have a set number of natural rights. They are not to be given or taken by government.

[Democommon Sense]

10:08 PM on 07/05/2010

So your logic falls apart when something like a vaccine is needed to live. Isn't the right to live inherent? Just because cancer at one time did not have a cure to deny it to another isn't impedeing their rights? Your logic has more holes in in then a block of swiss cheese.

[Hirnlego]

06:32 AM on 07/06/2010

All rights are created and are what we decide them to be.

Natural rights, made up.

[dissanayake]

11:17 PM on 07/05/2010

I had already assumed it was an inalienable right of all Americans. Imagine my surprise to read the hadlines.
I find it strange that any, country has to make law's to provide broadband to all it's citizens and that the Nation which created the citizens that invented the technology, doesnt provide it to the future generations of inventors.

[Chase Price]

03:56 AM on 07/05/2010

what we really need is for the web to be not taken over by comcast, etc.

[dnb310]

05:53 AM on 07/06/2010

Or Facebook.

[TinfoilLatte]

09:29 PM on 07/04/2010

Isn't the Internet one of those suspicious, newfangled socialist things?

[AlexFTW]

05:30 AM on 07/05/2010

If only.

[SilentSolidarity]

05:24 PM on 07/04/2010

Very good. There used to be a time when the US was leading in terms of broadband internet per person. Now we are lagging far behind. Most developed countries have an average DSL speed of 6Mbit/s vs. the US 3Mbit/s.

But I think we should invest the money into metropolitan areas more than rural areas. You can't deny that there is a trend that people move from low-density rural areas to high-density metropolitan areas. One apartment complex with 300 people needs as much copper as a line to a handful of farms. Obviously we should upgrade the apartment complex first.

In addition to that, more broadband access also means more users which would eventually reduce the price. i know from Europe that you can get 16Mbit/s DSL for 20 euros/month. You have to admit that is a pretty good deal.

[Democommon Sense]

10:10 PM on 07/05/2010

I agree completely I think for rural areas more wireless technology needs to be used like WiMax. The metropolitan areas need to be brought to top tier international standards.

[rocknrollinhoneybadger]

02:27 PM on 07/04/2010

He also planned to close gitmo.

[TParrish]

07:22 PM on 07/04/2010

he tried. He had to have a place to put the prisoners. When he found places in the US, Republicans ran around in frightened little circles, peeing on themselves like chihuahuas, and fought him every inch of the way. Kind of insulting to our Prison/corrections system, actually.

[surferbuoy]

03:37 PM on 07/05/2010

And of course the Dems stood firm & supported him right?

[doneit]

02:21 PM on 07/04/2010

It’s wonderful that they are going to expand access to the Internet. But it won’t mean much to millions of people because they are unemployed and the expansion doesn’t mean that monthly charge for Internet service will be less. http://www.panarumba.com

[scoobynooby]

02:41 PM on 07/03/2010

My first thought is, expand the internet or expand absolute control of it? I betting a little of the first and a whole lot of the second. (Why did huffy propogandist censors censor this statement previously? )

[Chubbster]

02:49 PM on 07/04/2010

Because they can. Ed does it and he's their hero.

[scoobynooby]

04:53 PM on 07/04/2010

Who is ED?

[philp71]

12:47 PM on 07/05/2010

i will assume that if bush said this you would be like yes this is great he will spread freedom across the world

[johnb123]

01:42 AM on 07/03/2010

As I've said, this is a gift to the broadband companies. People in rural places have satellite or DSL. They're not isolated. Broadband companies are losing customers because of this economy, it's their attempt to take customers away from satellite and DSL at OUR expense.

[lj9283]

01:57 AM on 07/03/2010

People in Rural places do not have satellite or DSL for Internet connectivity.

As economic activities around the world are increasingly conducted over the Internet, federal officials and U.S. economic experts have continuously cited widespread availability of broadband as critical to sustaining American global competitiveness. Yet, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC):

* Nearly 100 million Americans lack broadband at home; 14 million of them cannot get it even if they want it
* Only 42 percent of disabled Americans have broadband at home
* Barely 5 percent of the Native American tribal areas have broadband access.

http://www.recovery.gov/News/featured/Pages/Broadband.aspx

[johnb123]

02:08 AM on 07/03/2010

DSL can be found ANYWHERE there's a phone line. The people you listed may not have broadband because they can't afford it or don't want it. That won't change with this bill.

[lj9283]

02:00 AM on 07/03/2010

And here's the map:

http://www.broadband.gov/maps/availability.htm

[johnb123]

02:11 AM on 07/03/2010

If you live in a remote region or new development and there just isn't cable or DSL access available to your home, then Satellite is going to be your best (any probably only) option for getting high speed Internet.

While satellite access will usually be more expensive to get then either cable or DSL, the level of service is just as good. The speed of satellite Internet is comparable to other high speed Internet services, and just like DSL and cable, its always on.

http://www.high-speed-internet-access-guide.com/satellite/

[FREEDOM BELL]

12:46 AM on 07/03/2010

This is a good thing. An actuas investment in infrastructure and our future. It will promote future economic growth and catch us up with the rest of the second world.

[lj9283]

12:50 AM on 07/03/2010

The National Broadband Plan: http://www.broadband.gov/

[surferbuoy]

03:38 PM on 07/05/2010

And at the same time creat 5000 temporary jobs...cool.

[Didderbops]

12:32 AM on 07/03/2010

Oil spewing out of control in the Gulf and the president working with BP to make sure the public doesn't get all the info on the catastrophe, not closing Gitmo, ratcheting up Afghanistan..but hey he's expanding broadband, so it should make the Obamabots happy and something they can puff their chests about.

[lj9283]

12:42 AM on 07/03/2010

"So he hasn’t plugged the leak, and his poll numbers are sagging. Truth is, Obama has exceeded in 18 months what Clinton and Carter achieved in a combined 12 years."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-28/obamas-winning-streak-peter-beinart-on-his-historic-gains/?cid=hp:mainpromo2

[Chubbster]

02:54 PM on 07/04/2010

Exceeded in so many ways.....a horrible health care bill, a toothless, pointless D-minus grade meaningless financial reform bill...
He'd benefit from sane competition but all the currently visible challengers are warped beyond belief.

[SnapShots]

12:45 AM on 07/03/2010

So, I take it from your comment that you can only focus on one thing at a time. I am glad you are not our president.