网络国家宽带美国2007

NATIONALTELECOMMUNICATIONSANDINFORMATIONADMINISTRATIONUnited States Department of CommerceWashington, D.C. Executive Summary Broadband technology is changing our lives, oureconomy, and our culture.By making it possibleto access, use, and share information, news, andentertainment with ever increasing speed, broad-band knits geographically-distant individuals andbusinesses more closely together, increases ourproductivity, and enriches our quality of life.Inso doing, it fuels economic growth and job crea-tionthat,in turn,provide unparalleled newopportunities for our nation’s citizens. Technology Policies Technology Neutrality:Past experience teachesthat when government tries to substitute its judg-ment for that ofthe market by favoring oneproduct or vendor over another, it can easily divertinvestment and/or discourage research necessaryto bring new and better products or services tomarket.Given the rapid pace of technologicalchange, such unintended effects can have long-term and far-reaching adverse consequences thatextend across multiple sectors ofthe economy.For this reason, the Administration has consis-tently and strenuously advocated for technologyneutrality in order to take the government out ofdecisions more appropriately left to the market-place. Recognizing this transformative power, four yearsago President Bush articulated a national vision:universal, affordable access to broadband technol-ogy.From its first days, the Administration hasimplementeda comprehensive and integratedpackage of technology, regulatory, and fiscal poli-ciesdesigned to lower barriers and create anenvironment in which broadband innovation andcompetition can flourish. Spectrum Policy:To satisfy society’s increasingdesireto function“untethered,”new wirelessbroadband services can only emerge if spectrumresources exist to support them.Pursuant to thePresident’s June 2003 Spectrum Policy Initiative,NTIA haspromoted greater access to spectrumby improving the spectrum efficiency of Federalradio systems and operations.NTIA and theFCC, working together and with the Congress,have significantly increased the amount of spec-trum available for advanced wireless services. TheAdministration has also actively sought ways toaccelerate broadband deployment by facilitatingunlicensed uses and encouraging the use of prom-isingnew spectrum technologies such asultrawideband, and by implementing new spec-trummanagement systems that afford non-Federal users faster and easier access to spectrum. The results have been striking.The last severalyears have witnessed substantial growth in thebroadband marketplace punctuated by increases incapital investment, innovation, and market entry.Relative to other countries, the United States hasexperienced superior productivity over the pastseveral years. Americans today enjoy an increasingarrayof broadband services,available from agrowing number of service providers, using a va-riety oftechnologies.Penetration continues togrow, and prices continue to fall. A Broadband Strategy for the Twenty-First Century Buildingon the pro-competitive,deregulatorypolicies Congress articulated in the Telecommuni-cations Act of 1996, the Administration, throughthe combined efforts ofthe National Telecom-municationsand Information Administration(NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce,the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), andother agencies, and in cooperation with the Fed-eralCommunications Commission(FCC orCommission), has executed a combination of ini-tiativesto develop and rapidly deploy newtechnologies, eliminate regulatory underbrush, andremove economic disincentives for investment inthis critical area. Regulatory Policies TheAdministration has worked to clear awayregulatory obstacles that could thwart the invest-ment that fuels development – and deployment –of new technologies.It supported the FCC’s ef-fortsto modify legacy regulation in order toexpand incentives for local telephone companiesto invest in network upgrades and to stimulatefacilities-basedinvestments by other providers.The Administration has further encouraged ag-gressivebroadband deployment by favoringpolicies to ensure that applications running on theInternet, such as voice over Internet Protocol ser- vice,remain free from unnecessary economicregulation.TheAdministration has also sup-ported cable franchise reform efforts in order topromote the video services competition that willhelp to accelerate broadband deployment.InApril 2004, the President signed an ExecutiveMemorandum to give broadband providers moretimely and cost-effective access to rights-of-wayon Federal lands for their networks. data. Over 58 million of these lines serve residen-tial customers.FCC data also reveal that thenumberof broadband service providers morethan tripled from December 2003 to December2006, with the newest wired and wireless servicesgrowing at the highest rates.Data from the U.S.Census Bureau’s Internet Use Supplement to theOctober2007 Current Population Survey al