Oblinger Discusses Need for National Broadband Policy

Today EDUCAUSE President Diana Oblinger spoke about the pressing need for a national broadband policy at an event hosted by the New America Foundation (NAF). Held in the Senate Hart Building in Washington, DC, the event also featured FCC commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, e-NC Authority Executive Director Jane Smith Patterson, Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group, and Michael Calabrese, the Vice President of the Wireless Future Program at the NAF. This event, which was titled Broadband Revolution, was the first in a series on national broadband policy being sponsored by NAF.

"In the same way that railroads, highways, electricity and telephones grew our economy and benefited our society, broadband is the infrastructure that will take us into the next century," said Oblinger. "We can either sit on the sidelines or we can get it done, and I think it is about time."

She told the audience that a public-private partnership is needed, since relying on the private sector alone will not be sufficient. Furthermore, Oblinger focused on the strong link between education attainment and economic opportunity, saying the two go hand in hand. With only seven percent of a child's time being spent in formal education, she said it is vital that students have access to decent broadband for learning experiences outside of the classroom. Oblinger also said broadband (or lack thereof) will have an impact on where people move, thus effecting local economies and tax bases.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said there should be a sense of urgency when it comes to developing a national broadband policy. He said "the time has come to fix this problem, which is holding the country back."

"Revolutions have winners and they have losers. We need to be the winners," Copps said in his talk.

The commissioner said broadband policy changes demand leadership and commitment "at the top," especially because developing broadband could cost tens of billions of dollars. In the meantime, Copps told the audience that he believes the FCC should guarantee the openness of the Internet and learn about individual states' innovation efforts.

All speakers agreed that it is unacceptable for the United States to increasingly lag behind in broadband capacity, since it threatens the country's global competitiveness and economic prosperity. As NAF Vice President Michael Calabrese said, broadband is no longer a luxury.