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.