Higher Education Asks for Fast and Improved Internet in Telecommunications Reform

Washington, D.C.

America needs a secure, affordable, fast, and improved Internet so that anyone, anywhere will have access to higher education. This is the key message that a group of higher education associations* unveiled today as a part of a campaign they are urging Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to consider in the upcoming review of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

In supporting the association group’s message to Congress, David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, said, “The Internet represents the most significant advance in communications technology since the invention of the printing press and has had a profound impact on the exchange of ideas at colleges and universities across the country and around the globe. From recruitment to retention, from teaching to tutoring, from research to economic development, the Internet has become an integral part of the modern college and university. An improved Internet, with high-speed access available to all Americans, will go a long way toward ensuring our nation's competitiveness in an increasingly global economy.”

Because the Telecommunications Act originally made no significant mention of the Internet or other, newer technologies that facilitate educational information exchange and communications, Congress needs to amend existing legislation and enact new measures that will promote the rapid deployment of advanced Internet services and protect the values of openness and innovation that are critical to higher education.

Gary Bachula, vice president for external relations at Internet2, emphasized, “What we hope for from Congress and the FCC is a true forward-looking telecommunications policy with a 10-to-15-year horizon that includes a national vision outlining key priorities that will lead us to the next-generation of the Internet.”

The specific goals the higher education group is advancing are:

• high-speed access that is open to all;
• a level playing field for competing technologies;
• support for state and local network deployment; and
• increased federal funding for research and development that will enhance the Internet and related technologies.

The advanced networks operating on college campuses today showcase future benefits for all Americans, particularly in the areas of education, health care, and public safety. Spreading these capabilities throughout society will require a visionary telecommunications policy from the nation’s leaders. Mark Luker, vice president of EDUCAUSE, summarized the higher education group’s action plan as “bringing these principles not only to Congress and the FCC but also to colleges and universities at the presidential level. The effort is not only altruistic for all citizens but strategically important for higher education.”

For more information on this initiative, see www.BroadbandForHigherEducation.org.

*  The higher education group includes the American Council on Education, Association of American Universities, American Association of Community Colleges, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, National Association of College and University Business Officers, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, United Negro College Fund, EDUCAUSE, Internet2, and ACUTA—The Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education.

About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,200 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 17,000 active members. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at www.educause.edu.

About Internet2

Led by more than 200 U.S. universities working with industry and government, Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today’s Internet in its infancy. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu.

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