How Can We Expect to Compete Globally Without High Speed Internet

With the current speed at which our internet services are being delivered to us today, I don’t believe Telcos can expect to compete globally without some serious upgrades. What we need is a national policy that will ensure consumers have access to high-speed internet services that are affordable, fast, reliable, and don’t exclude rural areas or moderate income Americans who may be left behind if we don’t act now.

Students in higher income urban areas will be able to take advantage of Verizon's plan to build FIOS, while shedding its rural lines. Students in high income urban areas should not have an unfair advantage over students where only dial up is available and cable services don’t reach. Many students today are utilizing internet connections to view streaming video and two-way internet applications where the quality of the transmission and how long the transmission takes is essential to their success in the classroom.

AT&T plans to build U-Verse to 50% of households and connect rural areas with wireless technologies. It’s time to support universal, affordable high-speed networks to every American household, regardless of income or where people live or work. If you haven’t tested your internet speed, go to the Speed Matters website and take the speed test to see if you’re actually receiving a high-speed internet connection that matches that of your state or local area.

I was surprised to find out how slow my DSL speed was. DSL is often too slow for many applications and the Telcos need to build high-speed networks to compete with cable’s triple play bundle. If you want more information on “why speed matters”, check out CWA’s website at http://www.speedmatters.org/why/ to find out more.

If you’re still not convinced, read about Kentucky's "Prescription for Innovation." Then ask yourself the following questions: Are consumers entitled to an open internet which allows them to go where they want when they want? Are students all over the country, especially rural areas entitled to high-speed internet access? Should patients in rural areas have to travel hundred of miles to urban hospitals just to receive the proper diagnosis of their illness? Do you define high-speed as 200 kilobits per second (kbps) downstream, when the top speed generally available in Japan is 51 mbps?

Why We Must Act Now

taken from Speed Matters principles

The telecommunications industry is at a critical juncture. The emergence of a new telecommunications system—one based on high speed interactive networks designed for voice, data, and video communications—opens up tremendous opportunities for improving the quality of our economic, civic, and personal lives.
We are falling behind because the United States is the only industrialized country without a national policy to promote high speed broadband. Instead, we have relied on a hodge-podge of fragmented government programs and uneven private sector responses to changing markets.
It is now time for the United States to adopt a comprehensive national high speed broadband policy to ensure that we all benefit from the telecommunications and information revolution. Throughout our history we have been able to benefit from major technological advances because we adopted national policies to ensure the widespread and equitable deployment of those technologies. In the 19th century we adopted policies to develop canals and a national railroad system. In the 20th century we instituted policies to develop national telephone and highway systems.
In the 21st century, we need to have a national high speed broadband policy.

Speed Matters: Five Key Principles

taken from Speed Matters principles

Speed and Universality Matter for Internet Access.

High-tech innovation, job growth, telemedicine, distance learning, rural development, public safety and e-government require truly high speed, universal networks.

The U.S. “High Speed” Definition is Too Slow.

The FCC defines “high speed” as 200 kilobits per second (kbps) downstream. Government policies should immediately set “high speed” definition at 2 megabits per second (mbps) downstream, 1 upstream.

A National "High Speed Internet for All" Policy is Critical

The U.S. must adopt policies for universal access and set deployment timetables: 10 mbps down, 1 mbps up by 2010, with new benchmarks set for succeeding years.

The U.S. Must Preserve an Open Internet

High speed, high capacity networks will eliminate bandwidth scarcity and will promote an open Internet. Consumers are entitled to an open Internet allowing them to go where they want when they want. Nothing should be done to degrade or block access to any websites. Reserving proprietary video bandwidth is essential to finance the build-out of high speed networks.

Consumer and Worker Protections Must Be Safeguarded

Public policies should support growth of good, career jobs as a key to providing quality service. Government should require public reporting of deployment, actual speed and price.