Expanding broadband to bail out economies

As policy makers the world over haggle over how to revive ailing economies, one strategy has found widespread support everywhere from Washington and Berlin to Sydney and Seoul: Investing in high-speed Internet access. In recent weeks, the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Finland have all included measures to expand broadband access and to bolster connection speeds in their planned economic stimulus packages. Australia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Japan and South Korea have announced separate broadband plans, according to a compilation by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. While some of the plans have been in the works for months or years, analysts say it is no coincidence that so many of them are being rushed out now: The perceived popularity of building broadband networks provides political cover for bank bailouts. And, as economies shrink, attracting foreign investment is ever more important. "The crisis is making countries push forward with their digital agendas much more aggressively," said Charlie Davies, a senior analyst at Ovum, a telecommunications consultancy. "There's this competition internationally to want to be there at the top and say, 'We're the most digitally advanced country, a great place to do business and all that."'