Internet Service Speed Is Fast-Track Issue for New Administration

President-elect Barack Obama's plan to give the entire country speedy Internet service while creating thousands of telecom jobs as part of his stimulus package has come up against a seemingly simple but contentious question: How fast is fast enough? The Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, a trade group representing mid-sized carriers such as Qwest, is pushing for stimulus aid to build networks in rural areas offering download speeds of 1.5 megabits per second. Labor union Communications Workers of America says 3 mbps. Members of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association -- 50 mpbps. But public interest groups such as Public Knowledge and Free Press say that networks should not use stimulus money for expansion they had already planned, but instead should use it to pursue Obama's goal of the "finest and most modern communications infrastructure in the world." To achieve that, the groups say, means a stimulus plan with clear oversight, which would also encourage smaller competitors to giants AT&T, Verizon and Comcast to build new networks at speeds as fast as those offered in better-wired nations. The trade groups argue that they need the incentives -- which may come in the form of tax breaks, grants or bonds -- because carriers otherwise wouldn't have the capital to build out to rural areas or upgrade existing networks to offer speeds comparable with leading broadband nations, where high-definition video teleconferencing and multiplayer online gaming are available to most residents. Through their trade groups, the companies say stimulus aid would be used as a first step toward providing cutting-edge broadband service.