The POTUS claims effort to reduce gov't broadband spending will stimulate growth, jobs
As much as U.S. citizens decry "socialism", many are either unaware of, or perfectly comfortable with the U.S.'s vastly socialistic national highway system. Stretching out like weeds across the country, the federal highway system pumps the lifeblood of the union and provides for its defense, but is mostly government owned, as is the land that lies directly adjacent to the highway.
This arguably successful socialist institution has not been without its problems, though -- for one thing of late it has interfered with broadband deployment. The government often charges steep fees to "rent" federal land and pipe fiber optic backbone cable beneath a highway. These costs represent yet another barrier for entry in a market already devoid of competition due to high costs of entry, and a collusive coalition of service providers who look to literally outlaw small competitors via lobbying efforts.
I. Making Federal Lands Cheaper to Route Through, Provide Service to
President Barack Obama (D) announced this week that he would be signing and executive order that he claims will cut the cost of licensing these and other federal lands for broadband routing by up to 90 percent.
He comments, "Building a nationwide broadband network will strengthen our economy and put more Americans back to work. By connecting every corner of our country to the digital age, we can help our businesses become more competitive, our students become more informed and our citizens become more engaged."
The U.S. Highway system has been one of the most successful socialist projects of the American federal government, but it has raised broadband costs, due to the federal government owning vast tracts of land. [Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]
The project also aims to enforce transparency by adding a list of current projects to the Federal Infrastructure Projects Dashboard (permits.performance.gov). The departments that will be developing a single uniform, lower-cost licensing strategy will be the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Interior, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs as well as the US Postal Service.
Seemingly this development will please both large and small service providers alike as it could cut their costs. That said, it may lead to decreased government revenue, which in turn may further tip President Obama's already unbalanced budget. (For the record, the President claims the changes will cut the deficit.)
President Obama wants to force federal agencies to cut the cost of licensing land and adopt one uniform standard for broadband development projects. [Image Source: U.S. Aid]
This is a tricky issue for strong fiscal conservatives as on the one hand there is little public interest in scrapping the public highway system or privatizing it. Many even believe this socialist institution may even be Constitutionally endorsed as the Constitution includes provisions tasking the federal government with safe trade between states (and roads are essential to trade). Further, the highway system helps provide a means of moving troops -- another Consitutional duty of the federal government (defense of the nation).
On the other hand, lower revenue collection via more affordable public-private rental agreements may lead to higher deficit spending -- something fiscal conservatives bemoan.
Along with connecting conduits, some of the connecting cables will also be routed to the federal government's 10,000+ buildings, so the feds may seem some cost reduction on that side of the equation
II. Obama Looks to "Ignite" Broadband Efforts
Along with the new federal land efforts to support broadband deployment, Hewlett-Packard Comp. (HPQ), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), and other networking firms have volunteered for a new initiative called U.S. Ignite, which aims to deploy faster broadband networks.
The program will provide grants to experimental high-speed communities and to laboratory research into faster data transmission. The program is a joint effort with many non-profits who will help to shoulder its costs.
U.S. Ignite is a jumble of broadband development projects.
Among the proposed goals of U.S. Ignite is to provide faster broadband service to U.S. veterans and active troops. It sounds like some of the money will be put towards using high-speed connections to serve troops stationed in remote regions like Afghanistan who have been injured. Writes the White House:
[The] Department of Defense is connecting military families on base with new US Ignite services, while creating new research opportunities to students at West Point. HHS’s Beacon Community Program, starting with the Mayo Clinic, and the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Healthcare Pilot Program are partnering with US Ignite to provide new healthcare applications, such as remote surgical theatre and patient monitoring.
The Obama administration has funneled a large amount of the $3B USD Recovery Act's funding into broadband deployment, with much of the funds going to service providers. The Obama administration also worked to redirect funding for rural landline phone service towards building out mobile voice and data efforts.
The relative success of these efforts depends on whom you ask. The White House claims these efforts are "increasing broadband access in communities across the country" and that it is "ensuring that rural communities and anchor institutions are connected to high-speed broadband networks." The President's political rivals would likely disagree with that glowing assessment of his success.
Source: The White House [press release]
"We can't expect users to use common sense. That would eliminate the need for all sorts of legislation, committees, oversight and lawyers." -- Christopher Jennings
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