One of Pres. Obama’s top advisors made a small stir last month by stating that she was interested in creating a nationalized broadband network that could transmit data hundreds of times faster than our current system.
Susan Crawford, one of Obama’s special assistants, was in Australia last week where a government-subsidized broadband infrastructure project is in the works.
David Hatch, with the conservative National Review.com’s Congress Daily, wrote:
“While there has been no formal Obama administration commitment to such infrastructure investment, Susan Crawford … has said she is ‘personally intrigued’ by an ambitious plan by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.”.
Perhaps too much is being made of this, but it’s an appealing idea. At a time when billions of dollars are going to stimulus projects, why not use some of that to ensure broadband access across the country. It has a New Deal appeal to it.
Crawford has gone on the record to say how important Obama feels the American broadband infrastructure is. A week before her trip to Australia, she told Broadbandcensus.com that “Broadband is the new essential infrastructure …. Access to broadband does not guarantee” success, but “lack of access to broadband will guarantee economic decline.”
She added that Obama mentions broadband access all the time.
The thought of having a super-fast Internet connection without having to mess with my local broadband provider sounds great. Still, the whole idea is, and I hate to use the S-word here, socialist. The People would pay for and own most of the new infrastructure, which would leave broadband Internet service providers (ISPs) the option to either set up lease agreements or get out of the business all together.
So, lets look at the pros and cons of a nationalized broadband infrastructure. Please leave comments if I’ve omitted something.
PROS
1. Economic stimulus
There is no doubt that broadband is increasingly fueling businesses. More and more businesses are making sales online and they will be benefited when an increased number of customers can access their products faster and more reliably.
2. Encourages innovation
With uniform high-speed connections, web software, website design, and video for web can expand in new and innovative ways. There are plenty of good web business ideas that have been held back for lack of infrastructure. This would unblock that dam.
3. Social equity
If the government is building and operating the broadband network, people will have access where they otherwise wouldn’t have. I used to live in southeastern Ohio in Appalachia. It’s hard for some people to imagine, but there are whole cities and communities in that region that do not have access to the Internet, let alone high-speed broadband. This project would correct that. This would in turn, provide more customers to online businesses.
4. Net neutrality
In a recent post I wrote about the necessity of net neutrality, particularly for online businesses, social media marketers and SEO professinals. If the government owns the infrastructure, it is more likely that net neutrality will remain in tact.
5. Extreme public interest
The government provides certain essential services in our society, like the police, FBI, military, fire and rescue, etc. If broadband is going to be as important to the future as it appears it will be, then it might make sense to have the government at least help provide it.
6. My own selfish reasons
I have dreams of streaming hours of HD movies on my computer. If Netflix tells me one more time that the quality of my video is being reduced because my connection is too slow, I’m going to do something radical, like rent a movie from an actual movie store.
CONS
1. IT’S SOCIALIST!!!!! Arrrgh.
That’s not a con in and of itself, but I know it means a lot to some people.
2. Unfair competition with broadband ISPs
Depending on the level of government involvement, businesses that provide broadband could be negatively affected.
3. There’s no free lunch
It’s going to cost a lot and Uncle Sam isn’t exactly flush with cash these days. Some estimates put this kind of improvement at around $430 billion dollars.
4. Private industry can handle it
Eventually, I imagine, private industry will get around to updating broadband infrastructure. There will be no guarantee, however, that the improvements will provide uniform access to every area of the country. This will also be accompanied by increased prices, which may restrict even more people.
5. Make it easier for domestic spying
Right now, if a police officer or a government agency wants to identify an anonymous blogger or Internet user, they must get a warrant or subpoena for the Internet service provider. If the government is the ISP, this might encourage more warrantless monitoring of U.S citizens’ Internet use.
While the idea of a nationalized broadband network is still a long way out, I think it’s never too early to start the debate. Personally, I’m going to have wait and see a bit, but I’m excited by the idea. We’ll see what happens.