A National Policy on Broadband?
Source: www.voip-news.com
Does the US need a national policy on broadband for businesses? Larissa Herda, chairwoman, CEO and president of tw telecom thinks so. And she thinks that Congress and the FCC should establish it as a way to pave the road of innovation and create jobs.
“We must enable the enterprise with technological solutions that will propel and accelerate growth,” said Herda. “We can continue the path of the last decade, permitting consolidation and deregulation to limit competition and forestall innovation. Or, we can develop a meaningful broadband policy for businesses, and truly unleash the power of competition for the benefit of the entire U.S. economy.
While spurring job growth and strengthening business is important, is this the role government should really be playing? And furthermore, aren’t there pressing national issues for Congress to address before setting policy on business broadband? How do you even do that?
“Demand for bandwidth is growing – exponentially,” Herda said. “Yet, access to the end user customers and the buildings is generally constrained – limited to the facilities available only from the incumbent. This limited access often means higher prices and less innovation, which inflicts harm not just on our business, but more importantly on the hospitals, schools, banks, and government agencies on which our nation depends for economic progress.”
According to tw telecom:
Herda urged the assembly to fight for a national business broadband policy that includes three critical points — effective regulation of Special Access, including Ethernet services, and UNE last-mile facilities; interconnection for IP voice and data services; and a reform or elimination of the forbearance process.
