Before you dismiss the approach as a radical idea that could never be implemented here, consider this: it's being touted by a high-level White House official who reports directly to President Obama. Susan Crawford, special assistant to the president for science, technology and innovation policy and a member of the National Economic Council, recently said she is "personally intrigued" by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's ambitious goal. Even with this year's $7.2 billion cash infusion from Congress to stimulate domestic broadband investment, experts acknowledge that gaps in availability and bandwidth will remain, with pockets of the United States left with no service or antiquated technology.

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