New Zealand, which is a country smaller than most U.S. states, is investing heavily in broadband, with a budget in the tens of millions of dollars. While too many state legislators (14 states at last count) are trying to limit broadband, we've got countries that are going in the opposite direction.
We don't really have a broadband problem in the United States, we have a leadership problem. When our elected leaders are more interested in maintaining a Manufacturing Economy status quo, rather than helping their own communities and states compete in the global Knowledge Economy, that's not a technology problem, it is an education problem. We need to be helping our leaders understand the issues affecting economic development, and in particular, why we need to be looking at what is happening in other countries. It's not sufficient just to complain that they are not doing their job--we need to roll up our sleeves and help them understand what our communities need, and why.