Technology and society: social impact analysis of broadband internet access

Technology and Society

Implications of High Speed broadband Access for all Americans

lags lesser-developed and less financially prosperous nations in several areas of broadband access, ranging from access availability to network performance. The economics of broadband access in the U.S. also are forcing smaller, regional providers out of the market as the costs of network infrastructure continue to escalate (Crossman, Wagle, Wilkins, 59). Economically there is no incentive for broadband companies in the U.S. To provide broadband access to the most impoverished areas that form the nations' Digital Divide (Crossman, Wagle, Wilkins, 59). Even with the proposed National Broadband Plan, the smaller providers will still struggle financially to survive, even with government subsidiaries and the pricing strategies the Federal Communication Commission has proposed (Ford, Spiwak, Stern, 14). If the U.S. Government lets this languish and does not get the Plan accomplished, it risks affecting its ability to complete economically in the 21st century.

The Key to Economic Recovery Is Increasing Knowledge

The American economy's dominance today is more attributable to its innate ability to generate and use knowledge and innovation quickly and efficiently, often redefining entire industries in the process. Apple, Google, General Electric, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Proctor & Gamble and many other corporations owe their success to how integrated the knowledge and innovation is throughout the country. Several of these Fortune 100 companies have used broadband as a means to accelerate their growth by reaching out of consumers and growing at an exponential rate. Google is a case in point as is the continued growth of Apple with their iTunes ecosystem. As of this writing in May, 2010 Apple has a higher market capitalization than Microsoft. This is because Apple has a better understanding of how broadband can be used to serve customers globally more efficiently.

If a start-up from Cupertino founded by Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs three decades ago today uses broadband to sell billions of songs over the Internet, why can't the U.S., one of the most powerful nations on the planet, accomplish the six long-term goals of the National Broadband Plan? This interesting and ironic question needs to be resolved quickly if the nation is to stay competitive globally and be responsible servants to its citizens. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) have proposed $7.2B be spent on the National Broadband Plan (Kirby, Gotsch, et.al. This is just one of the many costs associated with the implementation of the plan. There are also the incremental costs of managing the pricing analysis needed to keep the program equitable, the costs of universal availability (Kirby, Gotsch, et.al.), funding of the Connect America Fund (CAF) and costs of Lifeline and Link-Up programs. The diversity of these programs is necessary to attain the six objectives of the National Broadband Plan. The additional costs of Digital Literacy Corps will be funds well spent as this initiative looks to close the Digital Divide through training and educational programs. Additional costs include those for creating a more responsive and consistent public safety network and working to ensure first responders have the ability to send data and voice in real-time over broadband networks. The build-out of a countrywide broadband network will also be useful for more effectively responding to emergencies and saving more lives. All of these costs of programs include components of the physical development of infrastructure as well.

Assessing the Benefits of National Broadband Availability

The many benefits of enabling national broadband coverage for the U.S. are explained and analyzed in this section. First and most importantly, are the educational benefits for the nation's children who in many poverty-level counties are being denied the opportunity to further their education (Ford, Spiwak, Stern, et.al.). The greatest benefit of implementing a national broadband plan is that it will significantly raise the educational levels of students, as they will have e-learning and online teaching materials available to them. Their teachers and schools will have an enriched learning experience that will allow for individualized instruction that will also lead to many of these students graduating from high school. It has been shown throughout U.S. Census data that dropout rates correlate to per capita income levels of specific regions, with lower-income areas generating the highest rates of high school dropout percentages (Heckman, LaFontaine, 244). Having broadband accessible to these students will give them the chance to break the cycle of poverty that keeps high dropout rates in place. Using broadband for teaching trades in high school for example will give these students and their families a chance to rise out of poverty.

Second, the implementation of a countrywide broadband plan will also provide a strong foundation for economic growth. From the jobs advertised online only through monster.com and individual job company sites to the state- and federally-funded job banks that are only available online, broadband access will be a catalyst of those in poorer areas who do not have service today a chance to find jobs. In addition to making job hunting and finding employment easier, the build-out of a national broadband infrastructure will also make entirely new business models possible. Add in the capability to enable widespread mobile e-commerce (m-commerce) and the competitiveness of American businesses will increase.