New York City says broadband should be a universal service

The New York City Committee on Technology in Government has issued an excellent and extensive report [link no longer available] on the need for broadband throughout the city. It reaches many of the same conclusions that the City of Seattle reached in its study of broadband. Among the highlights:

• Broadband must be affordable, and the private sector, even in New York City, is not delivering affordable broadband.
• The Committee recommends that the City adopt a goal of universal broadband adoption by every resident, nonprofit, and business in the city.
• The relatively high cost of current broadband offerings prevents many small and medium-sized businesses from being able to leverage savings that might come with broadband (like VoIP).
• The Committee believes broadband is a necessity, not an amenity. The Committee states that "broadband....is a necessity and a public good in today's world."
• The Committee also states that "Broadband is crucial to economic competitiveness." Their rationale is that New York City businesses now compete in a global economy in which businesses located in other countries (with affordable broadband) now compete directly with the businesses located in New York City.
• The report also discusses broadband as a"must have" for businesses and notes that successful recruitment of businesses to locate in the City now depends heavily on the availability of affordable broadband.
• The emerging requirement for bandwidth for an average household is 57-72 megabits/second, with "tech savvy" households using nearly all of a 100 megabit pipe. The report also notes that bandwidth requirements for business are higher than residential needs. The Committee noted that they saw no indication that the cable companies, which hold 75% of the broadband market in the U.S., have any intention of increasing their current single digit (3-5 megabit) capacity.

The report also reviews the work of other cities like Philadelphia and Seattle. There are not many recommendations, but they do recommend that every new building have telecom duct as a requirement, not as an option. The report is long but readable, and makes a case that local government has a role to play.