Broadband Stimulus

Both President-Elect Barack Obama
and Congressional leaders have discussed including government support to promote
high-speed broadband access as part of the upcoming economic stimulus package.
This has prompted a flood of proposals and ideas from advocates of all sides of
the broadband debate. Economic stimulus should be timely, temporary and
targeted. But who should this stimulus target and how can we spur investments
that will create both short-term economic growth and long-term economic
prosperity in the 21st century?

Although there is consensus on the
critical need for broadband stimulus, there are clear divides on how the money
should be spent. Do we utilize tax subsidies or targeted grants? Who receives
the subsidies? Should we provide subsidies to existing cable and telecom
providers, or focus on supporting new competitors? Should we strictly target
subsidies to spur build-out in rural or under-served areas? Are there speed
requirements? Do we include local governments, community groups, and NGOs?

Panelists debated these key questions and their answers and proposed solutions are highlighted in the following video clips:

What is the single
most important strategy that should be included in the stimulus package?

Discussion of the effectiveness
of tax incentives to spur investment

Tax incentives vs. direct
grants

What is the most
important condition to place upon a federal subsidy?

New America
also released a paper by Benjamin Lennett and Sascha Meinrath advocating for
long-term, sustained government investment in broadband.  Building
a 21st Century Broadband Superhighway seeks to leverage federal spending on
traditional infrastructure (road, bridges and possibly railways) to create a
fully interconnected, public access fiber infrastructure to bring high-speed
connectivity to nearly every community.  Proposals of other panelists are listed below:

Robert Atkinson – The Digital Road to
Recovery: A Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs, Boost Productivity and
Revitalize America  

Wally Bowen – Local Network Stimulus:  A
‘Green’ Broadband Policy for Underserved America 

Derek Turner – Down
Payment on Our Digital Future: Stimulus Policies for the 21st-Century Economy

CWA – Proposals
to Stimulate Broadband Investment

Mark Cooper – Building
a New Communication System for America at the Grassroots Level

Participants

Featured Speakers
Robert Atkinson
President and Founder
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Wally Bowen
Founder and Executive Director
Mountain Area Information Network

Debbie Goldman
Research Economist
Communication Workers of America

S. Derek Turner
Research Director
Free Press

Mark Cooper
Research Director
Consumer Federation of America

Benjamin Lennett
Senior Program Associate, Wireless Future Program
New America Foundation

Moderator
Michael Calabrese
Director, Wireless Future Program
New America Foundation