Bush Administration: US Broadband Goal Nearly Reached

BUSH ADMINISTRATION: US BROADBAND GOAL NEARLY REACHED
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: John Dunbar]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an agency within the Commerce Department that acts as the president's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy issues, has released a report, Networked Nation: Broadband in America, that offers an upbeat assessment of the Administration's efforts to spur growth and competition in the high-speed Internet market. Critics said the report's conclusion is too rosy. The report concludes that "a reasonable assessment of the available data indicates" that the objective of affordable access to broadband for all by 2007 has been realized "to a very great degree." The report relies on data from the Federal Communications Commission and other sources. The FCC reported that at least one person in more than 99 percent of all U.S. ZIP codes received broadband service from at least one provider by the end of 2006. The report paints a picture of a broadband environment that is becoming increasingly competitive, for which it credits the president's policies. President Bush has promoted polices that created "an environment in which broadband innovation and competition can flourish," the report states. Among them: a freeze on state and local taxes on Internet access; a policy of clearing airwaves for use by commercial providers of wireless broadband service; and continuing efforts to "clear away regulatory obstacles" that might thwart investment in new technologies.
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