Broadband Stimulus Experts Speak
The House may have already passed its $819 billion economic stimulus package, which includes substantial funding for U.S. broadband deployment in underserved areas, but the Senate still has to act and there are similar provisions in that chamber's bill. In anticipation of a vote next week, a handful of experts will come to Capitol Hill Friday to offer advice for how best to include high-speed Internet incentives in such a package -- a proposition that hinges on understanding two critical issues: how broadband affects economic growth, and how the credit crisis has affected broadband investment. For event details, click here.
The Technology Policy Institute briefing will feature the latest research on the links between broadband and economic growth as well as analyst and industry perspectives. Speakers include: TPI Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten; National Cable and Telecommunications Association Executive Vice President James Assey; Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Robert Crandall; Stifel Nicolaus telecom analyst Chris King; and Northwestern University professor Shane Greenstein. A new report by Greenstein estimates that broadband adds about $10 billion per year in new GDP and another $5 billion in unmeasured consumer surplus.
In related news, NCTA posted a six-minute video on its Cable Tech Talk blog featuring the trade group's president, Kyle McSlarrow, discussing broadband stimulus language. Click here to go to the NCTA blog or follow the jump to watch the clip on Tech Daily Dose.
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