Turning Billions of Broadband Investment into Trillions of Economic Growth

[Commentary] Michael Curri, a broadband economist, says that for every dollar invested in broadband the economy realizes a tenfold return. So if we can enable $50 billion in investment, that means the economy will see a boost of $500 billion. And that number could be higher as that 10x multiplier refers to broadband in general not next-generation broadband specifically. With more capacity businesses, individuals, and institutions can do more things more quickly and more efficiently, so that 10x could be much higher for next-generation broadband. Taking this one step further, if we were to create a $5 billion fast-track partial loan guarantee program for which all communities were eligible we could distribute $125 billion in partial guarantees enabling $250 billion in investment, enough to wire the whole country with at least one next-generation broadband network. We're now talking about $2.5-5 trillion of economic growth. Talk about a good investment!