In a final report by the California Broadband Task Force, the group said the state must continue to push for broadband across the state, to ensure residents and businesses realize the full economic, educational and social benefits of widespread high-speed access. The taskforce called on the state to invest in broadband deployment, ease permitting hurdles and create an e-health network in California that will help drive demand for broadband services.
"Increasing both access to and use of broadband will build economic capital, strengthen public safety resources, improve living standards, expand educational and healthcare opportunities, and raise the levels of civic engagement and governmental transparency," the task force wrote.
The report paints a largely positive picture about the state of broadband in California. The state is No. 1 among U.S. states with 96 percent of households able to receive broadband. But if California were considered it's own country, it would rank only 10th in the world after coming in 3rd in 2001. And the speeds in California are slow by international standards, with only half of local households able to access speeds of more than 10 megabits per second.
The Bay Area boasted broadband availability of 99 percent of households, tops in the state. Second was the Los Angeles area with 98 percent. But while big urban areas excelled, rural areas like the Northern Sierra region lagged behind. The Northern Sierra had a broadband availability rate of just 57 percent while the east side of the state had a 60 percent availability rate. All told, there are about 500,000 households, or 1.4 million people, who do not have access to broadband.
The state needs to find ways to fund rural deployments, increase speeds beyond 10 and 20 megabits per second and also educate people who don't use broadband about the benefits of high-speed Internet access, the task force concluded.
"It is clear that other countres are improving their broadband infrastructure at a rapid pace and that California must do the same if it is to retain its world-class leadership in technology," the report said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Ryan Kim
Quelle/Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 17.01.2008
