Take a moment to flip open your pocket Constitution. Freedom of speech? Check. Right to a fair trial? Check. Right to high-speed Internet access? Nowhere to be found, of course.
Internet access is no longer a luxury: it is a necessity. The Internet has emerged at the center of our national economy, democracy and culture. Imagine applying for a job, starting a small business, deciding how to vote or creating a brilliant feline cultural meme (LOL!) without it. That would be hard. Super hard.
The nation of Finland agrees. Last week, the government of Finland became the first in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right. This means Finnish telecom companies will now provide all 5.3 million citizens: even those in the backwoods: a guaranteed, reasonably-priced one-megabit connection by next July. By 2015, this is set to increase to 100 megabits per citizen.
It’s time for the United States to do the same. Americans are ready; in a poll earlier this year conducted by Zogby International, nearly half of all Americans agreed that broadband must be available to all.
The United States remains the only industrialized nation without a national broadband plan to increase Internet access and performance. A study released this month by Harvard University examined broadband systems throughout the world and found that the United States is just “a middle-of-the-pack performer.” The United States is falling drastically behind the developed world in broadband performance.
Despite being the birthplace of the Internet, the United States has fallen to 19th place worldwide in average Internet speed, 15th in nationwide distribution and 18th in price for a middle speed connection. In 2007, approximately 40 percent of all U.S. homes did not have Internet access, or were on low-speed “dial-up.”
Washington state is no exception: only 58 percent of households in the state had broadband in 2007, which leaves nearly three million Washingtonians without broadband Internet.
These embarrassing statistics are the direct result of government failures to create consumer-friendly broadband policy. In addition to Finland, nations such as South Korea, Japan and Denmark have pursued national plans that have allowed them to greatly outpace the United States.
Now is the time to ensure affordable, high-speed Internet access for all Americans. Improving our nation’s Internet policy should be a central aspect of our economic recovery. In the past, public investment in electricity, water access, railroads, highways, etc., was necessary to keep our economy growing. If we want to ensure that all Americans are connected to the Internet, our government must step in now. And while industry myths about deregulation abound, the facts are indeed on our side.
The Internet offers new and vast opportunities for entrepreneurship, free speech, democratic participation and artistic expression. A study has shown that the Internet economy has created 1.2 million jobs over the past decade or so and that Americans with Internet now make roughly 10 percent of retail purchases online. Furthermore, from the grassroots e-support for Barack Obama, to the vibrant politics and art of the blogosphere, to the smaller victories like “Lolcats,” the Internet has added tremendous value to our society.
The “digital divide” between those with high-speed Internet and the tools to use it and those without disproportionately affects the working class, racial minorities and the geographically isolated.
The Internet should help us overcome, not exacerbate, existing inequalities. No home, business or civic institution should be left out. All Americans, not just the wealthy and well-situated, should have access to broadband.
President Obama is on the right path. He has set aside $7.2 billion in the economic stimulus package to connect unserved and underserved areas to broadband and has voiced his support for the important issue of Net Neutrality. The Federal Communications Commission is also currently making national improvements a priority. However, they face incredible pressure from powerful telecom lobbies to protect their nationwide duopolies and fat profits.
They’ll need a little backbone, some luck and our support to put the United States back on the right path.
