WASHINGTON — Rural areas need greater access to high-speed Internet as the demand for digital technologies continues to increase, a panel of experts said this week.
At “The Entrepreneurs’ March on Washington” on Tuesday afternoon, major players in the online community gathered to strategize and discuss the future of broadband in communities across the nation.
The Universal Broadband panel, moderated by technology reporter Kim Hart of The Hill, featured William Wallace, chairman of Digital Bridge Communications; Blair Levin, coordinator of the national broadband action plan at the Federal Communications Commission; Charles Curran, general partner at the venture capital firm Valhalla Partners; and Bruce Mehlman, chairman of Internet Innovation Alliance.
“Broadband expansion is a top priority for the Obama administration,” Hart said, “and is becoming a utility almost as important as electricity in these days, as everyone becomes more and more wired and more dependent on the information that we can access on the Web.”
The panelists agreed broadband implementation in rural areas is crucial; stating that demand in rural markets is the same for advanced services and applications, like Apple’s iPhone, for example. The question remains as to the best strategy to building these networks in every town in America, regardless of whether that’s a rural farm or an urban high rise.
As part of the federal economic stimulus bill signed into law earlier this year, six billion dollars in funding was made available to increase broadband Internet service in rural areas. The FCC was required under the law to create a national broadband plan in order to make the service both more available and more affordable.
“Broadband is the fourth utility, next to gas, electric and water,” Wallace said. “We are bringing opportunities to rural areas – and the first part of the economic equation is coming up with the technology that enables you to bring best technology to rural areas, and also allow you to make money while doing it.”
In the 10 years since broadband Internet first become available, it now reaches 95 percent of the population. The remaining five percent live in areas without broadband access, often due to the cost of wiring these areas, a lack of the digital knowledge required, or economic hardship, said Curran.
As with most modern technologies, speed and availability of access are critical in broadband implementation. According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, as more and more households subscribe to broadband, the next challenge is getting faster broadband.
National broadband action plan coordinator Blair Levin of the FCC told the panel and audience that additional spectrum is the key to strengthening the United States’ position as a leader in broadband availability.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation recommends that the United States continue to make more spectrum, including “white spaces,” available for next-generation wireless data networks, in order to truly address the growing demand.
“It took cars 55 years to reach a quarter of the population, it took electricity 35 years, it took PCs 15 years, and broadband got to a quarter of the population in six years,” Mehlman said. “There is robust demand. If we are going to be half as successful as the administration aspires to be in health IT and smart grids, we should continue to see very robust demand for increasingly capacious networks.”