Broadband and Economic Development: How Deep is the Alliance?

At the final discussion held jointly by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Agriculture's Department's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), panelists were asked to "provide the NTIA and RUS with good ideas about how we promote community economic development through the broadband stimulus program." Given the enormity of the topic and broad constituent base of the panelists, the public and participants struggled to make sense of the implications of ubiquitous broadband for community economic development. No one advocated the phrase "build it and they will come," but everyone agreed that a health care, emergency services and education were essential to attracting businesses to a community. Everyone agreed that broadband was essential. In other words, building-out broadband does not create certainty, it is merely necessary to be a viable economic contender. The panelists were the U.S. Pan-Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, the National Rural Health Association, the National Emergency Number Association, Ronson Network Services Corp., the National Association of Development Organizations, the Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the Communications Workers Of America and Argent Associates.