Obama Views Broadband as Key to Economic Recovery

December 16, 2008

By Mike Peters

In his weekly radio message, President-elect Barack Obama stressed the importance of broadband Internet access for every American home, business, and institution as key to the country's economic recovery.

U.S. Lags in World Broadband Adoption

Obama said, "It is unacceptable that the United States ranks fifteenth in the world in broadband adoption. Here, in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online, and they'll get that chance when I'm president - because that's how we'll strengthen America's competitiveness in the world."

Obama Calls for Broadband Internet in Schools, Hospitals, and Doctor's Offices

"We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms; because to help our children compete in a 21st century economy, we need to send them to 21st century schools," Obama continued.

Obama called for a modernization through broadband of hospitals and doctors' offices, saying "The economic recovery plan I'm proposing will help modernize our health care system - and that won't just save jobs, it will save lives. We will make sure that every doctor's office and hospital in this country is using cutting edge technology and electronic medical records so that we can cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year."

National Broadband Internet Access a Priority

The U.S. Broadband Coalition has called on the President-elect to make a comprehensive nationwide broadband strategy a priority. Matthew Polka, president and CEO of the American Cable Association - a member of the Coalition - said, "In the 21st century, broadband access for every American is more than a luxury, or even a right; it is an absolute necessity. Broadband-enabled Internet connectivity has changed the way the world communicates, learns, and does business, and the United States can no longer afford to lag behind other nations."