[1st-mile-nm] Web discussion on nation' broadband future

[Richard Lowenberg]

For the last four evenings, there has been a very (surprisingly)
informative online discussion on national broadband technologies,
strategies and policies, led by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, with a
number of invited 'expert' participants and open pubic exchange.   Tonight
was the last of formal discussions, though the exchange is expected to go
on over coming days, yet.

Log on to:  http://openleft.com/tag.do?tag=legislation+2.0
for tonight's session, and to find links to the previous evenings topics
and sessions.    The opening statement follows:

Live Blog Here at 7pm ET
by: Matt Stoller
Fri Jul 27, 2007 at 19:00:00 PM EDT

Building out broadband access to everyone in America is not a simple
topic, but as Jim Baller notes, the the need for a national broadband
strategy in the context of global economic trends is clear.  Just what is
broadband?  Is it current DSL speeds in the US, or 100MB connections like
we see in Korea?  How can we close the rural divide, and bring full
broadband access to those in public housing?

There are some interesting public-private partnerships at, and we have
Paul Morris of the Utah-based fiber network UTOPIA on how government
policy can support such work.  And then, of course, there's the issue of
money.  The Universal Service Fund, the Department of Agriculture, and HUD
are all possible places where money for universal access can be found.
John Windhausen writes on full deployment and the Universal Service Fund,
and Waldo McMillan at One Economy Corporation disussed his organization's
'Broadband in Public Housing' initiative through HUD. And finally, Andrew
McNeill of Connect Kentucky described his  telecom-backed private-public
program, and how it should be expanded to the rest of the country.

The live-blog should be interesting.  To be honest, I'm quite skeptical of
McNeill's broad claims.  John Windhausen pointed out that real deployment
is going to cost $2000 per household, and the idea that there's a free
lunch out there, where industry will pay for full deployment, seems like a
stretch.  I'd like to see McNeill and Windhausen discuss where they agree,
and where they don't.

Building out infrastructure in broadband is core to America's future.  How
it happens, or doesn't, is something that should concern us all.

Discuss :: (84 Comments) at:
http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=451


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Richard Lowenberg
P.O.Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110,  505-603-5200 cell

New Mexico Broadband Initiative
www.1st-mile.com
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