Execs, Experts Say Broadband Policies Must Balance Competition, Access

Broadband policies must adapt to ensure both competition and quality service for all consumers, a group of industry executives and policy experts said Thursday during at the Pike and Fischer Broadband Policy Summit. Lack of universal access and market competition are two reasons the U.S. lags in broadband, whether one believes "the glass is half full or half empty," said Google Media and Telecommunications Counsel Richard Whitt. Consumers are increasingly viewing broadband as a component of infrastructure and a utility, or not just a commercial service, said Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott. The $7.25 billion appropriated for broadband in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was a charge from Congress to develop programs based on a "robust broadband infrastructure." Scott noted prices for broadband service in some areas are 10 percent higher than others because of lack of competition. Solving this problem will require new telecommunications policies for a networked world based on "very different approach, a different set of expectations, and a different focus," he said.