William F. Smith: “I support this bill as I expect it to be amended. Mr. Speaker, this bill as I expect it to be amended will create new…”

“I support this bill as I expect it to be amended. Mr. Speaker, this bill as I expect it to be amended will create new job opportunities and is a step towards ensuring that all Americans have access to broadband. The New Millennium Research Council study found that building a nationwide broadband network would create 1.2 million jobs. In addition, it would ensure competition between cable and telephone companies, which will not only spur job growth, but also encourage the innovation of new Internet services and products. We must focus on encouraging economic growth, both to help working Americans and to help the high tech sector. U.S. businesses waste $11 billion annually because employees access the Web through slow dialup modems. Increasing broadband access will significantly increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace. This is especially important to the high tech sector, which drives our economy. Increasing its capabilities will benefit the entire country. Only 9% of U.S. households currently have broadband Internet access. This bill will ensure that more Americans are able to use this technology. Broadband holds the key to the newest technologies. Once broadband is widely available, we will have access to innovative multimedia, video and interactive services that today's Internet simply can't support.”