Big Bandwidth: Unlocking a New Competitive Advantage

[Commentary] Whoever is President in 2013, the message for policymakers remains the same: It is time to chart America’s big bandwidth map.

While we are enjoying a wireless upgrade, only a wired connection can provide the bandwidth necessary for “Big Bandwidth” services. When it comes to wireline access to the Internet, instead of discussing upgrades, we are discussing bandwidth caps, tiers and rising prices. Instead of witnessing investment for growth, we are witnessing harvesting for dividends. When it comes to broadband-fueled growth, it is as certain as tomorrow’s sunrise that a country talking about upgrades, not caps, will be better off in a few years; a country talking about caps, not upgrades, will not. This outcome is not inevitable. We can regain leadership by improving the math for wireline investment through policy choices that have the effect of lowering capital or operating expenses or by raising the potential revenues or competitive threat to incumbents or new entrants. We have done this before. In fact, every new communications network deployment or upgrade has been preceded by a policy change that had one or more of these impacts.