Lack Of Nat'l Broadband Strategy Costs Industry Billions in Stimulus

Just got back from watching the first session of a great event on implementing the broadband stimulus. You can check out the agenda here: http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/citi/broadbandstimulus

I was forced to leave early so I can catch a plane to Minnesota to address the MN Ultra-High-Speed Broadband Taskforce tomorrow, but wanted to share a quick revelatory moment I observed from that panel.

On it Blair Levin, a member of President Obama's tech policy transition team, made a very interesting comment. He lamented that because we didn't have a national broadband policy in place the stimulus package couldn't include as much money for broadband as it may have otherwise.

What I inferred from that statement is that the administration and the Hill were ready to do more for broadband, but because our industry couldn't agree on what we wanted that all that could be included was money for things that wouldn't cause too much disagreement, like stimulating deployment in rural areas, so as to not bog down the progress of the overall stimulus bill.

So in other words if instead of everyone lobbying separately for their own piece of the pie we would've come together and established a common framework for a broadband stimulus package that benefits everyone we could've grown the size of the overall pie for the entire industry, likely by billions of dollars.

Needless to say, that's rather disappointing news to hear about a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this stimulus bill.

At the same time I'm extremely encouraged by what this suggests is possible with our new administration if we as an industry are able to come together and find common ground. Blair's comment alludes to the fact that with a clear, coherent, comprehensive national broadband strategy in place and everyone supporting it, that our elected officials are ready, wiling, and able to pursue transformative action in spurring the deployment and use of broadband.

But we must take heed of this lesson: the more we bicker the less that's going to get done. On the flip side: the more we can find ways to agree on issues the more that's possible.

So let's continue coming together so we can make sure we don't miss an opportunity like this again.