National Broadband Policy - 100 Resources

Since its founding in 1998, EDUCAUSE has consistently advocated that advanced network capabilities on campuses should also be made available to all Americans so that the entire nation may benefit from Internet-based access to education, health care, and public safety. More than 80% of the students in U.S. colleges and universities live off-campus, as do students in primary, secondary, and continuing education programs. Reaching these million of Americans requires a national commitment to a truly broadband Internet. In 2005, as the U.S. Congress considered re-writing the telecommunications law, EDUCAUSE urged Congress to adopt legislation incorporating five basic principles. In 2007, the EDUCAUSE Network Policy Council reiterated its support for a national broadband policy and urged policymakers to adopt four broadband policy goals which they laid out in a pamphlet Broadband America – Realizing the Vision.

A Blueprint for Big Broadband, a white paper released by EDUCAUSE in January 2008, takes the next step. It builds on these principles and goals and proposes a strategy that will get the United States 100 Mbps broadband to every home by 2012.

Comments on Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP). EDUCAUSE filed comments on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's broadband provisions with the NTIA and RUS in this April 13, 2009 letter.

What You Can Do

1. Find out what your broadband options are and contribute to a national census on broadband speed and choice. Go to www.broadbandcensus.com.
   
2. Read the study and pass it along to friends and colleagues.
   
3. If you agree with the proposal, write, call or email your congressional representatives both at the state and federal level and tell them what you think about the need for a National Broadband Strategy.

Broadband’s Promise for America: A graphic description, in pamphlet form, describing broadband technologies and uses and the bandwidth required for each, plus a depiction of the “All-Internet Household” and how a family might use 100 Mbps.

Highlights from a Blueprint for Big Broadband: A two page “talking points” document developed to introduce the complete study.

Big Broadband Connectivity in the United States: An EDUCAUSE Review article by John Windhausen.

Presentation: A Blueprint for Big Broadband: A power point presentation that summarizes the main points of the complete study.

Related Legislation

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the economic stimulus package, provides $7.2 billion in grant funds for broadband infrastructure. For more information on broadband grants, please visit the economic stimulus page.

H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Measuring Broadband Speeds

We all know there are widely varying speeds on broadband out there.  However, to actually see how those speeds differ in real time provides an interesting, and perhaps clearer, look into just how dramatic a difference standard broadband in the United States may be from say, South Korea.  Fortunately, there are web sites that allow viewers to see exactly how different their speeds compare with others.  The second link in particular shows varying speeds for downloading common content, like an MP3, 24 digital photos, or a DVD. 

Speedtest.net

Fiberspeed