Daily Archives: June 12, 2007

WCA Tracks the Candidates on Broadband

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WCAWCA has created a web site that is the “go-to resource for comments by – and comparisons between – top U.S. policymakers regarding the pace and benefits of broadband deployments.”

They give nice broadband profiles for everyone and you can comment. The profiles include what they say and (more importantly) what they’d done in terms of broadband in the past.

They track the campaigns and post any news that is broaband-related and they track individual issues including:

Rural Broadband Deployment
Interoperability
Net Neutrality
Applications in Education
Applications in Military

On an only semi-related note. The WCA Annual Conference is happening now. The line up looks great – if only it were happening in Minnesota. I’ll be sure to check back with them next week to see if they will be posting notes or presentations online.

A Sneak Peek at Thomas Friedman

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Thomas FriedmanI don’t want to get anyone in trouble – but I found an archive of a recent Thomas Friedman article online: (Thomas Friedman: U.S.-trained high-tech workers will displace us). Usually I think you have to pay to access the articles on the NY Times so this was a Lucky Strike Extra for me!

Thomas Friedman, originally from Minnesota, has written books about how the Internet has flattened the world. One example of his theory is my plan to move to Ireland this fall and have you all think I’m still at my desk in St Paul. If I can get to the Internet, then my move should be seamless for blog readers and clients alike. Bill Coleman may have even found me a way to do free video phone calls over the Internet – so folks can even see me if they want.

Back to Friedman – he recently published an article praising the US for stellar advance tech degrees – and admonishing the US for not doing more to retain the many foreign students who take advantage of our great educational opportunities. He points out that we’re mentoring our own technical and economic replacements around the world! Now that’s not such a bad thing except that we’re forgetting to keep some of the seeds to replenish and expand the original crop.

In this case the Internet (and broadband) is a double edge sword – because suddenly geography doesn’t matter. Location, location, location isn’t the answer so long as you can access the Internet – many of us can do our jobs and run our businesses from anywhere.

I don’t want to get too political but Friedman points out that:

9/11, and the failing Iraq war, have sucked up almost all the oxygen in this country — oxygen needed to discuss seriously education, health care, climate change and competitiveness, notes Garrett Graff, an editor at Washingtonian Magazine and author of the upcoming book “The First Campaign,” which deals with this theme.

I might chime in to add broadband to the list of items that need to be addressed and won’t be until we find more oxygen. Unfortunately, while we’re busy not addressing this issue other countries are moving ahead – without us.

No Municipal Broadband in NC?

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We’re a long way form North Carolina (despite the hot weather today) – but an article on the Baller Herbst’s email list about North Carolina caught my eye.
Think South

Think South is a blog maintained by the Center for a Better South. They recently ran a post on North Carolina cities’ reaction to a bill being considered in the North Carolina State Legislature to limit the ability of municipalities to provide Broadband Internet access to residents.

Not surprisingly, telecommunication and cable companies support the bill. Cities don’t. One issue brought up by cities is the potential impact on rural and/or poor areas where private entities are often not interested in investing in infrastructure to support connectivity.

The blog quotes an article from the Independent Weekly that quotes Rep. Angela Bryant (D-Halifax, Nash):

“Technology’s moving so fast, some of my cities and counties say that as far as they’re concerned, broadband service is almost like electricity, water and natural gas in terms of how essential it would be for citizens to have it and how much of a deprivation it would be not to, just because private industry won’t do it,” she [Rep. Angela Bryant (D-Halifax, Nash)] says. She’d like to find some balance between the concerns of the industry and needs of local communities.

It’s hard not to see both sides. The municipalities (who don’t pay taxes and don’t need to make a profit) would have a distinct advantage in the marketplace. Yet, a community without broadband access runs the risk of a distinct economic disadvantage. Where do we strike a balance? It’s an interesting question and I’m sure that the issues that surface in North Carolina could surface here in Minnesota too.