Speed Matters: U.S. Needs to Boost Universal, Affordable Access to Broadband

CWA Pres. Cohen opens Speed Matters news conference. From left: Chairman Julius Hollis, Alliance for Digital Equality; Council Member Sherri Bowman, Charles City County, Va.; FCC Chair Julius Genachowski; NAACP Washington Director Hilary Shelton, and Carl Pope, Chairman, Sierra Club.

Below: FCC Chair Genachowski says 'speed matters' for jobs and economic growth.

CWA's fourth annual Speed Matters report comparing broadband speeds in every state was rolled out at a news conference with President Larry Cohen, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski, and key coalition members in the campaign to improve access and affordability of high speed broadband.

Leaders from the NAACP, Sierra Club, Alliance for Digital Equality, and from Charles City County, Va., a Richmond area community where more than half the residents don’t have any access to broadband, joined the event, comparing the needed buildout of high speed broadband to projects decades ago that brought U.S. residents the interstate highway system, electricity in rural communities and other public gains.

Currently, nearly half of all U.S. residents don't meet the FCC's miniumum speed standard of 4 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload, the report found.

Cohen commended the FCC for its work to improve broadband deployment, connection speeds and adoption, especially in rural and lower-income urban areas. "By building out high speed Internet, the infrastructure of the 21st century, we'll create quality jobs and support economic growth," Cohen said.

Genachowski stressed that "speed matters on the Internet, enabling innovations in telemedicine, education, economic development, energy conservation, and job creation." The CWA report spotlights the need for investment in higher speed broadband networks to support America's critical applications, he said, adding, "that's why moving forward on the National Broadband Plan is our top priority at the FCC."

Watch the full news conference at www.speedmatters.org.

The five fastest states: Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland and New York. Among the slowest: Montana, Wyoming, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Lack of access to high-speed Internet reflects a persistent digital divide among Americans. Geography and income too often indicate whether someone has access to high-speed Internet. In urban and suburban areas, 70 percent of households subscribe to broadband, with only 50 percent of rural households subscribing to the service. For Americans who make more than $75,000 a year, 87 percent get broadband while only 45 percent of Americans that earn less than $30,000 subscribe.

That's why CWA and others support the FCC's National Broadband Plan, which lays a framework for all Americans to have access to affordable, high-speed Internet, resulting in economic growth, quality job creation, sustainable communities and advances in education, healthcare and more via the Internet.

For access to the full 2010 Speed Matters report, click here, and click on "Download the Report."