A panel from the Freedom to Connect conference discussd the changing nature of broadband policy using the stimulus package as an example.
The act assumes that broadband provides benefits to a whole community, creating a new ecology. "For years, the debate has been about incenting the market and getting carriers to invest," Feld said. "Entities that were despised in yesteryear — and I mean literally last year — such as state and local entities and non-profits are now presumed to be most in tune with the philosophy of a broadband ecology."
"It’s not just about delivering TV and squeezing every dime out of the local community," agreed Hovis. "The act recognizes that local entities understand a set of local needs and concerns that corporate headquarters located far away do not."
Communities cannot be locally self-reliant if they are dependent on unaccountable companies for the most important utility of the 21st century.
