Michael Copps, an FCC commissioner and consumer advocate, had an op-ed piece in the Washington Post last week. Copps says American broadband is too slow and too costly, and that it is going to cripple our economy and our ability to compete in the global economy. I could not agree more.
Copps goes on to say that universal, affordable broadband access would be a major driver of economic development, with the ability to add more than a million jobs to the economy. Lack of affordable broadband is limiting the ability of many businesses to expand into new markets and to just manage the enterprise efficiently. Copps endorses a public/private approach. In most areas of the country, I think the initiative to get this done has to come from local and regional governments, rather than from state initiatives. Neither state nor Federal governments have neither the will to help nor the energy to try new approaches. Communities and regions are on their own, and your community, without affordable broadband available, may not survive economically.