Broadband Revolution

Although the U.S. once led the world in Internet deployment and innovation, our nation continues to plummet in international rankings in terms of broadband adoption, speeds and costs. As a result, there is growing support for an affirmative national broadband policy to promote more affordable and ubiquitous access to high-bandwidth connectivity. An MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

Since 2001, the e-NC Authority of North Carolina has been at the forefront of state efforts to promote availability and adoption of broadband, particularly in rural and distressed urban areas. The e-NC Authority provides a vital state-level view of what it will take to make this essential 21st Century infrastructure available and affordable for all. At this forum the e-NC Authority will release and present a major white paper, prepared by the Baller Herbst Law Group, that comprehensively examines trends and issues in broadband deployment, including:

• The growing benefits of broadband to economic development, education, health care, public safety, telework, urban revitalization, and environmental sustainability, and other key areas of American life;
• Broadband deployment efforts in leading Asian and European nations and how they differ from the U.S. approach;
• The level of bandwidth capacity that will be sufficient to enable America to thrive in the emerging knowledge-based global economy;
• How national, state and local broadband strategies can contribute to America's success;
• And policy recommendations to help North Carolina and the United States capture the full benefits of broadband in the years ahead.

The panelists discussed the policy recommendations of e-NC and other participating organizations and their implications for developing a national broadband strategy to energize high-speed broadband deployment and adoption throughout the U.S.

Attachments

• Speaker Biographies (PDF 4 pp.)
• MP3 Audio Recording of this Event

• Bigger Vision, Bolder Action, Brighter Future (Report Explanation and Information)
• Bigger Vision, Bolder Action, Brighter Future (Broadband Report from eNC and Baller Herbst)
• Bigger Vision, Bolder Action, Brighter Future (Executive Summary)
• FiberSpeed. How fast is Broadband? (Visual demonstration of download and upload speeds for broadband connections)

Location

Hart Senate Office Building, Room 902

Participants
Featured Speakers

• Commissioner Michael Copps
  Federal Communications Commission

• Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
  Federal Communications Commission

• Jane Smith Patterson
  Executive Director, The e-NC Authority

• Diana G. Oblinger
  Executive Director, EDUCAUSE

• Jim Baller
  The Baller Herbst Law Group, Washington, D.C.

• Stan Fendley
  Director of Legislative and Regulatory Policy, Corning, Inc.
  (on behalf of the Fiber-to-the-Home Council)

• Michael Calabrese
  Vice President and Director, Wireless Future Program, New America Foundation