National Broadband Intrastructure Policy Statement

* I. BACKGROUND
In recent years, technology advances enable all computers to communicate with all other computers across the world. Digital files can be transmitted using phone lines, cables laid underground, and through the air along with broadcast networks such as television and radio. The Internet is described as a huge cloud filled with data and information, graphics, audio and video bits available to anyone with a computer and access to the Internet. In 1992, telecommunications companies promised Congress that they would make sure all Americans would have their phones replaced by marvelous devices they called video phones, where callers could see each other as they talked, where tablets could be used to write messages and share information with those on the receiving end. They would do this by the year 2000, if the Congress went along with their demands for money, more money, and yet more money. That did not happen. In the meantime, the public wrestled out their own version of the telecommunications industry's vision, and the Internet arrived in the mid-nineties. As the Internet grew, so did the demand for higher speeds to be available to participate in new applications with audio and video capabilities. Today, there is an increasing need to provide all Americans with broadband infrastructure to accomodate the public's access to audio and video and data and information and graphics and images that require high bandwidth to send and receive to others around the world. Today, the telecommunications industry states that it cannot satisfy this demand, and it will be a decade or more, before the broadband infrastructure they envisioned in 1992 will be built out to provide the U.S. with a broadband infrastructure.

* II. GOAL
The goal of the national broadband infrastructure policy should be to provide all Americans with access to a broadband infrastructure that rivals the most sophisticated broadband infrastructures now available in other countries, including Japan, the Scandinavian countries, Estonia, and Europe.

* III. OBJECTIVES
The objectives include the ability for all Americans to enjoy broadband speeds that are sufficient to send/receive videoconferencing experiences, send/receive data, graphics, images, audio and video files rapidly without data loss. Underlying the national broadband infrastructure policy is the clear understanding that no service provider along the network that comprises the national broadband infrastructure will interfere in any way to restrict the flow of data across the nation's airwaves, which are owned by the public.

* IV. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
The national broadband policy strategy is a simple one, based on present technology that is modular, and the least cost approach to connecting the nation's airwaves. Governements at the federal, state and local level will embrace the establishment of community-wide wireless mesh networks, which in today's dollars, costs $50 per house. The local government will purchase and plug in the first unit, and from that point forward, each house in the community will strive to purchase a $50 unit and plug it into their wall socket. Support and encouragement, known as "championing" will be provided by local, state and federal government to facilitate and speed up the adoption of community-wide wireless mesh networks as quickly as possible.

o A. Local, State and Federal Resources
As there is no cost for facilities or plants or manufacturing buildings to carry out the national broadcast policy, local, state and federal governments need only prepare such materials, time and labor needed to promote and "champion" the creation, establishment, and guide the operational and maintenance needs unique to each community. The broadband infrastructure, when in place, will represent a community indigenous resource to be leveraged by the community to expand and improve their broadband infrastructure.

For example, San Francisco has thousands of units active in their broadband infrastructure, based on a community-wide wireless mesh network that represents their broadband infrastructure. When completed, the city government, on behalf of the citizens, will put out a request for proposals to telecommunications industry players. The city will entertain those proposals that pay the city to gain access to the community-wide wireless mesh network, i.e., San Francisco's indigenous resource, the broadband infrastructure. Hospitals will apply to gain access to the broadband infrastructure to promote and carry out its telemedicine programs. School districts will apply to gain access to the broadband infrastructure to provide their students with a "last mile solution" that enables their students to start multimedia projects in school computer labs, and complete their homework assignments from their homes in evenings and on weekends. City departments will arrange contracts, negotiated with the city, to gain access to the broadband infrastructure in order to carry out their business methods based on work orders. Savings in time, labor, and money will be significant.

o B. National Priorities
The national broadband infrastructure policy includes national priorities. Fire, police, and rescue will utilize the broadband infrastructure to provide enhanced and improved services for citizens of every community, every state in the country. When broadband infrastructure is in place in every community across the country, the opportunity to implement a national telecommunications network specifically directed at federal agencies will be possible. Planning for what services and products now being offered by the federal government might be streamlined, reworked, and reorganized to take advantage of the national broadband infrastructure will be completed, in order to limit the liabilities and legal exposure of the federal government, for not having acted in a timely fashion prior to the year 2000.

o C. Annual Planning Process
On an annual basis, the federal government will report to the People, its progress in making the government accountable to the People, what costs and benefits are being derived from the switch to a national broadband infrastructure, and future plans for expanding and improving the broadband infrastructure.

o D. Implementation Approaches
Governments, whether at the federal. state or local level, need not invest directly in a national broadband infrastructure. Each citizen will purchase a $50 Meraki unit, or similar device, plug it into their wall socket, and inform their local network volunteer. The broadband infrastructure needs no additional capital investment to be operational and functional. Governments, whether at the federal, state or local level, will need to plan and carry out strategies that clearly demonstrate support, awareness campaigns that demonstrate active involvement by local, state and federal officials, and a general embracing of the national broadband infrastructure policy.

* V. ACTIVITIES
o A. Notifications
Federal, state and local governments will provide each citizen with repeated reminders that their participation in the national broadband infrastructure is desired, needed, and provide a contact number for citizens to discuss how best to participate, if they have problems preventing them from participating. These notifications will act to bring the community together to discuss and plan how best to ensure every house in the community has the ability to participate fully in the community broadband infrastructure policy.

o B. Outreach
Federal, state and local governments will establish, in coordination with local volunteer groups, outreach programs that will provide continuous awareness campaigns for their local communities. The more robust the broadband infrastructure is at the community level, the greater value this 21st century indigenous resource offers its citizens.

o C. Financial Responsibility
Financial responsibility for the national broadband infrastructure falls to each house's occupant. Each house is encouraged to purchase one $50 Meraki unit to plug into their wall socket. In order to accomodate those who may not have the $50, volunteer groups, along with local city officials, may find it desirable and even necessary to plan for and carry out fundraising campaigns to assist those in need.

o D. Enforcement
There is no legal enforcement for the building out and establishment of a community broadband infrastructure. There is a legal liability exposure attached to not providing a community-wide broadband infrastructure that is affordable for all community residents. This legal liability will attach to the elected officials at the local, state and federal levels. The federal Government Services Accounting Board will establish accounting rules that obligate all federal, state, and local governments to operate on an accrual basis for those expenses/costs associated with the national broadband infrastructure policy. When voters' find their elected officials have incurred enormous debts to the taxpayers for not implementing a national broadband infrastructure strategy in their community, and failing to carry out their elected official duties under oath, local, state and federal governments must enforce the laws under which they operate.

CONCLUSION
The economic impact of a national broadband infrastructure has been demonstrated eloquently by at least one research institute. Details on this impact can be found by visiting Connected Nation. The national broadband infrastructure relies on a decentralized broadband infrastructure being established in every community in the U.S. This represents the most affordable, least cost level of broadband infrastructure necessary to propel the U.S. to the forefront in global broadband infrastructure development. By treating broadband infrastructure as a decentralized utility, the country benefits from enormous savings as demonstrated in those communities that have already established such broadband infrastructures. This approach dramatically departs from traditional approaches used for utilities that required expensive capital investment by the private sector. Community ownership of broadband infrastructure at an affordable level jump-starts our country in the 21st century in a remarkable way, and represents a recognition that a global broadband infrastructure must be affordable, first, and an economic opportunity second.