Policy and Law: Federal and Broadband Technology

The United States has fallen behind its international competitors in broadband deployment, price, and openness in part because it has no national broadband policy. In contrast, most other countries adopted proactive programs to address the broadband needs of their citizens at the beginning of the decade that are now proving successful. Several U.S. states are now developing their own broadband plans because of the void at the national level. This session will propose an action plan for the nation based on the lessons learned from Europe, Asia, and some U.S. states and discuss what it will take to get such a plan through Congress.

This is a speech given by Michael K. Powell, when he was Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, at the Silicon Flatirons Symposium on "The Digital Broadband Migration: Toward a Regulatory Regime for the Internet Age." University of Colorado School of Law, Boulder, Colorado, February 8, 2004.

The economic and social future of the United States depends on answering the growing demand for very high-speed broadband connectivity, a capability termed “big broadband.” Failure to take on the challenge could lead to a decline in global competitiveness and an inability to educate students.