How many times during the 2008 election and now do we get a message from the White House that says "Watch this video?"
Just recently the White House was asking for suggestions--aka--Advise the Adviser. http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
The results of suggestions, they state, will be soon reported to all "in a video".
My advice provided was "Make high-speed internet accessible and affordable to all."
Unfortunately, because locally here in rural Alaska, the cost of even a mere 4MB of internet speed is $100/month (DSL) is beyond my own reach, I will be unable to watch the video with the summary of advice received. I wonder if anyone in the upper tiers of government will actually get a clue on this?
Want to help the unemployed? Give them access to affordable high-speed internet. Want to give small business a helping hand? Provide affordable high-speed internet. Want folks to watch your video so you can win in 2012? Provide affordable high-speed internet to all those you wish to watch your video. Want effective activism for the Democratic Party nationwide? Provide affordable high speed internet.
President Obama once gave lip service to the concept (August 2008/The Progressive).
http://www.progressive.org/...
"As President, I will set a simple goal: Every American should have the highest speed broadband access—no matter where you live, or how much money you have. We’ll connect schools, libraries, and hospitals. And we’ll take on special interests to unleash the power of wireless spectrum for our safety and connectivity."
I currently receive a spotty 256K connection for $50/month on top of phone connection from Alaska, Power, and Telephone. To actually deliver the service folks are paying for, folks also have to change out all the phone lines inside their homes/offices for with new CAT5 wire, we are told months after the original DSL service is installed. The monthly fee is instant; service, not so much.
AP&T (Alaska Power and Telephone) uses the same phone lines and installs one box for DSL service. Then, they sit in their office and flick a switch. For $30/month, one is held to 64K service. For $50/month, they will switch up to 256K. And on up, incrementally, to $100/month for 4MB speed.
For some folks, $100/month is no big deal. For others, already paying fairly significant phone, electric, heating fuel, taxes, and food costs, $100/month for high speed internet service is simply irresponsible.
AP&T has a monopoly pretty much in our rural community and elsewhere across Alaska. Electric service, phone service, internet service. Electricity and phone costs are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission. Internet service is not.
Details vary from service provider to service provider, from community to community, from state to state. In general, internet is not yet considered a "public utility". Therefore prices are not regulated by either the states or the federal government. A rate for low-income folks is not provided. Similar complaints of price-gouging have come from folks receiving service from GCI, ATT, and other providers.
The big public money goes to oil companies gas companies in Alaska, though the number of jobs created will be limited and the future of such jobs not sustainable. Affordable high speed internet would help more people, boost business and commerce, help the unemployed, and will create more opportunity for folks to receive the Democratic message and to participate actively in governmental feedback, improvement and efficiency.
Some grants are going to utility companies to provide the access, but there are no requirements for the access to be affordable. I would define affordable as $30/month or less.
I'd love to see Alaska take the lead on this as far as states go. Legislators, however, are pressured by the bigger corporations more than they are by the regular folks on the ground. $1.2 billion dollars to big oil--no problem. $1 billion for affordable high-speed internet for all--well that's not even seriously considered by most lawmakers.
What do you think folks? Is this one for the feds? For the states? Where are the good examples of progress on this front? How can we can get the job done in the U.S.? High speed internet service is no longer a luxury, but a necessity in today's world.