IP: Gilmor's Broadband column...

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dan Gillmor <dgillmor () sjmercury com>
Date: Sun, 02 Jun 2002 12:09:09 -0700
To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: Broadband column...

Dave --

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/3385556.htm

-- 

Dan Gillmor
San Jose Mercury News
+1-408-920-5016 Voice
dgillmor () sjmercury com
www.dangillmor.com
PR People, please read:
www.dangillmor.com/pr




Even hypocrites can make a reasonable point, sometimes. The growing debate
over federal assistance to build out the nation's high-speed data links is
one such occasion.

The technology industry's half-baked libertarians are pushing for a federal
commitment to promote a worthwhile cause, near-universal broadband data
connections. They're right, even if they're doing it mostly for their own
benefit.

They got a boost last week when a U.S. senator with an eye on the White
House visited Silicon Valley on a pro-broadband mission. Like the industry's
powers that be, Connecticut Democrat Joe Lieberman didn't offer remotely
specific proposals, but his heart seems to be in the right place.

The issue is vitally important, though few of the advocates for universal
broadband seem to understand precisely why. Mostly they say we should have
fast data connections because, well, it'll be good for us.

There are all kinds of sound reasons to push broadband. Advocates tend to
focus on fuzzy notions of goodness, saying that we won't know the best uses
of high-speed connections until they're in place and entrepreneurs,
entertainers, educators and everyone else figures out what to do with them.
That's a variation on the ``Field of Dreams'' (``if you build it, he will
come'') school of Big Projects, and it's undoubtedly true.

National security is a more immediate, practical reason. In a world where
terrorists can and will hunt for high-visibility targets offering
high-density populations, we need the kind of decentralization -- of people
and economic activity -- that broadband would make possible.



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