Monday, January 19, 2009

Stimulating the Growth of Fiber Networks Will Immediately Create Maximum Broadband Jobs

Adopting tax incentives for expanding next-generation broadband networks with direct fiber connections would ensure that the economic recovery package now under consideration in Washington, D.C., would create a large number of jobs and extensive economic growth, according to a study released recently by the Fiber-to-the-Home Council.

The study, prepared for the FTTH Council by the economic consulting firm Empiris LLC, found that enactment of tax incentives for the deployment of networks running fiber all the way to premises would generate more than 200,000 direct jobs in each of the next 3 years and increase economic output by more than $100 Billion. A key reason for these substantial job benefits is that labor accounts for almost one-half of the money spent to deploy networks with direct fiber connections. In addition to the direct effects, increased broadband penetration from these proposals would indirectly generate another 360,000 new jobs, according to the report.
The report emphasized that, because broadband providers are experienced infrastructure builders, these and other tax incentives for new next-generation broadband infrastructure would create jobs and spur economic growth almost immediately. "Not only would these proposals create jobs and help boost economic recovery right away, but they will also accelerate expansion of the basic high-tech infrastructure that will drive the U.S. economy throughout the 21st Century," said Jeffrey A. Eisenach, Chairman and Managing Partner at Empiris.
The Empiris study estimates that federal payment of bond interest for next-generation broadband networks, officially referred to as "tax credit bonds", would create 197,437 direct U.S. jobs as a result of private sector deployments, and another 19,744 direct jobs in public sector deployments in each of the next 3 years. Meanwhile, a 100 percent expensing provision for next-generation broadband would produce as many as 32,000 jobs over the same period, while a 50 percent expensing provision for rural/underserved areas would potentially create more than 5,000 jobs.

In rural and underserved areas, the FTTH Council supports tax incentives for broadband deployment at slower speeds to ensure that all Americans have access to broadband and to stimulate broadband deployment and economic activity in areas where they otherwise would not occur.

"In expanding America's broadband infrastructure, it makes sense to encourage the higher-bandwidth networks we will need to compete globally in decades to come," said Joe Savage, President of the FTTH Council. "This study provides evidence that promoting those networks also will give the maximum boost to employment and immediate economic growth."
The FTTH Council recently endorsed broadband incentives proposed by the Communications Workers of America, including provisions similar to those analyzed in the Empiris paper.
A copy of the full report Economic Effects of Tax Incentives for Broadband Infrastructure Deployment can be downloaded from the FTTH Council's website: www.ftthcouncil.org.
Additional information: www.empiris.com

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Convergence Part Deux

We've all heard of convergence in Telecom applications before, but we're looking at a whole new level now. It's just a matter of time until all out Telecom services are delivered ny a high speed broadband ethernet connection. TV, Interent, Telephone and even cell phone applications are all combining in our high speed broadand service. DSL, Cable Interent or FiOS service will be part of the convergence and the applications that go with them will be outstanding.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Economic Stimulus Package through Telecom Infrastructure

Found this interesting article. In order to stay copetitive in the global economy we need to continue to build the broadband infrastructure and availability in this country.

Investment in 100 (Mbps) NetworkSource:
www.freepress.net

According to a new new report issued by the Freepress Action Fund, President-elect Obama and congressional leaders have concluded that a massive economic stimulus package focused on infrastructure is the best hope for pulling the U.S. economy out of the current recession. In the past, such stimulus efforts traditionally focused on highways and utilities, and these types of projects certainly belong in the new stimulus package. However, the incoming Obama administration and Congress must look beyond the interstate highways and start investing in the information superhighway. Just as President Eisenhower's economic policies brought Americans a national transportation system in the 1950s, President Obama's can connect Americans to a communications network fast becoming the foundation of the 21st Century economy.

Promoting the deployment of a national, forward-looking broadband infrastructure will provide substantial short-term and long-term economic benefits. This deployment effort will immediately create tens of thousands of new jobs in the telecommunications, manufacturing and high-tech sectors. In turn, a new, world-class broadband infrastructure will spark the creation of millions more jobs in nearly every economic sector connected to technology and communications.
In particular, these policies will provide substantial economic relief to the rural areas of America hit hardest by the current recession. They will also improve our global competitiveness, lifting us from 15th place (or by other measures, 22nd place) among developed nations in broadband adoption. Increased broadband adoption - particularly if targeted to low-income users and households with school-age children - will also substantially increase short-term consumer spending. And it will ensure long-term economic growth by bringing those on the wrong side of the digital divide into the digital economy.

Though the Internet was born here, American consumers are not benefiting from broadband's full potential because our networks are slow and expensive compared to the rest of the world. This is largely because there is no meaningful competition in the American broadband marketplace, and network operators have no incentive to make substantial long-term investments. Broadband stimulus funding should only be used to build world-class networks unlikely to be deployed absent public investment. Freepress Action Fund recommends that stimulus funds be targeted at deploying broadband services capable of delivering actual (not advertised) speeds in excess of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) in both upstream and downstream directions.

A broadband stimulus package must be carefully targeted and tied to public service principles that ensure that American taxpayers get a strong return on their investment. In this paper, Freepress Action Fund offers a set of proposals to expand the debate about broadband stimulus and provide a foundation for further discussion.

Freepress Action Fund focuses on a set of key public policy priorities:
- Rural America — building out future-proof networks to unserved areas.
- Low-income users — supporting affordable broadband connections, computers and tech training.
- Global competitiveness — upgrading our urban infrastructure to meet world-class standards.
- Education — promoting children's access to technology at school and at home.
- Accountability — ensuring clear standards of quality, affordability and competition, and deduct up to $200 in qualifying Internet access device expenditures.

Broadband Data Improvement Act Funding($300 million over 3 years)
Congress recently passed legislation to promote broadband deployment and adoption by mapping broadband availability through the collection of comprehensive data. However, no money was appropriated to implement the programs established in the bill.
By funding the public/private programs envisioned by this already approved effort, Congress can ensure that broadband stimulus funding is directed to the areas where it is needed most.
Rural Development Community Connect Grant Program ($150 million over 3 years)
Congress should appropriate $50 million per year over three years to this USDA-led program for the explicit purpose of constructing and/or funding community centers (including libraries) that will offer free broadband services and technology training, with an emphasis on training for families with children and senior citizens.

Health Care and Public Service Digital Modernization Program ($150 million over 3 years)
President-elect Obama has expressed the desire to use the stimulus legislation to increase efficiency in our nation's health care system by bringing record-keeping and other health care services into the digital age. There is a similar need to modernize the customer service systems at local and state governmental agencies. Such modernization would vastly improve productivity in the general economy, replacing long lines with easy-to-navigate, Web-based service portals. Congress should establish a program, overseen by the NTIA, that supports modernization at health care facilities and local and state agencies.

Oversight, Accountability and Results
Though the stimulus is needed quickly, and though it is almost certain that legislation will be crafted in haste, Congress must not simply write blank checks to industry. To maximize the effectiveness of scarce taxpayer resources, oversight and accountability measures must be established. If the public is to become a financial partner in our broadband networks, the private owners of those networks must be held to public service standards.
In particular, mechanisms should be established to ensure that any tax incentives or grant monies are used to fund new broadband deployment projects. This requirement will ensure that the stimulus funds are used to create new jobs, not to prop up the stock prices of telecommunications companies.

All of the grant programs and tax policies we recommend must be available to all telecommunications providers, including municipalities, nonprofits, and non-incumbent carriers.
Further, stimulus money must be tied to strict build-out schedules and affordability and capacity requirements. This level of public investment should return a network that is world-class — not simply an incremental improvement over the status quo. The Internet service these subsidies are designed to support also must be an open, freely competitive platform for ideas and commerce.