Diverse group calls for national broadband policy

A diverse group of 55 signatories, including major telecom companies and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, today released a call to action for a national broadband strategy aimed at making broadband deployment and adoption a priority for the Obama administration. The document, endorsed by parties as varied as AT&T, Verizon, Google and municipal broadband players, seeks to find a middle ground on which all broadband players can stand and endorse the push to make broadband ubiquitous in the US.

The call to action, also signed by other high-technology companies, manufacturers, consumers, labor unions, public interest groups, educators, state and local governments, utilities, content creators, foundations and many other stakeholders in America’s broadband future, was coordinated by Jim Baller, senior principal of the Baller Herbst Law Group and an active participant in many efforts to spread broadband availability. According to Baller, this is the first step in a process that will include a major event in the spring of 2009 to continue to focus on the need for broadband deployment and adoption.

The call to action is being presented this morning in Washington, D.C., with executives of many of the signatories present and speaking.

The documents note the importance of broadband access to all aspects of current life, including “economic growth, job creation, educational opportunity and global competitiveness” as well as “safety, homeland security, health care, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and the worldwide distribution of millions of products, processes and services.” If the US is to remain competitive in the global economy, the call to action states, there must be “a comprehensive national broadband strategy” that will set clear, attainable goals starting with making broadband Internet access affordable and available to “every American home, business and public and private institution.”

Other goals include:

• Open access to the Internet “to the maximum feasible extent” for all users, service providers, content providers, and application providers.
• Rights for network operators to manage their networks “responsibly, pursuant to clear and workable guidelines and standards.”
• A competitive Internet and broadband marketplace, to the greatest extent possible.
• Broadband network performance, capacity, and connections that US citizens need to compete successfully in the global marketplace.