Broadband stimulus spurs public debate
March 2, 2009
The Obama administration's $7.2 billion in stimulus funds to expand broadband access has stirred up an ongoing debate about public policy and the internet.
Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee suggested Thursday that the government should have no role in stimulating broadband deployment, which she said should be the purview of the free market.
Blackburn spoke at a forum on broadband communications held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Private companies will bring broadband where the market demands it, she said, according to a report from IDG news service. "That is where I think we do let the market handle the job," she said. "I fully believe that the market can work this out."
Public interest advocates on the other side say the broadband stimulus money should be directed to specific underserved areas and stressed accountability to the public. It's time to upgrade the nation's digital infrastructure, said S. Derek Turner, research directorof the group Free Press.
"But urgency without accountability will result in waste, fraud and abuse - shortchanging the promise of a bright broadband future," he said. "The public interest should guide these agencies as they work to put the angels in the details."
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