National Broadband: More Purpose Than Religion - Page 2

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High profile issues for broadband adoption

To underscore the urgency, they offered a long list of high-profile issues that increased broadband adoption could help resolve, whether driven by legislation, regulation or industry self-guidance.

Each was passionate to the point of evangelizing about the impact that broadband could have on issues like telemedicine, where broadband in rural areas has saved lives because a specialist at an urban hospital hundreds of miles away can oversee an operation on a victim of a car crash who might not survive the helicopter ride.

In education, students who attend schools where math and science teachers are in short supply could have access to advanced placement courses through e-learning programs, provided different states and school districts could coordinate their curricula.

And they went down the line, describing broadband as the panacea that could tackle poverty, shore up the networks used by first responders and law enforcement, and curb carbon emissions by bringing teleconferencing into the mainstream.

They even brought out Randy Hickman, a veteran of the Iraq war from rural Alabama, who described how the Internet had enable him and his fellow GIs to keep in touch with their loved ones at home.

"I hate to use a brand name, but Skype was a key word to us over there," he said, referring to eBay's Internet phone company.

Each of the groups represented, including the IIA, pledged its commitment to working with industry and the policy makers of the coming administration to craft a national broadband strategy. They'll have plenty of company.

If the recent flurry of policy talks and advocacy activity has been any indication, Bruce Mehlman, co-chairman of the IIA, was far from alone when he declared that "a person without broadband is below the poverty line."