If you’re reading this now, chances are you’re online. In the past decade the Internet has become a central force in our lives, responsible for everything from our bank accounts to our celebrity gossip, and with technology so prevalent some are now arguing for free broadband access. Should surfing the Net remain a cash business, or is it time for free admission into cyberspace?
At a time when the United States is falling further and further behind a growing list of more connnected countries, the necessity of jumpstarting our global competitiveness is growing. Within a global service economy, countries with a competitive advantage in their broadband speeds and pricing will benefit, while laggards will find themselves disadvantaged. Those who point to the marginal improvements in broadband speeds and pricing within the United States over the past half-decade ignore the fact that our gains have been far less relative to numerous industrialized economies. Thus, over time, we are finding ourselves on the wrong side of a growing international digital divide.
A nation-wide investment in free Internet access is exactly the type of intervention we need to propel the United States into a more competive position. In much the same way that the interstate highway system created efficiencies that spurred the US economy in myriad ways, in the digital age, a nation-wide information superhighway would have an enormous beneficial impact on countless facets of our economy.
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