Why broadband is important

For the vast majority of us, broadband has become so commonplace in our professional, personal, and social lives that we rarely think about how much we depend on it. Yet without broadband, our lives would be radically upended: Our work days would look different, we would spend our leisure time differently, and even our personal relationships would exist differently.

But if broadband is an essential part of daily American life in the 21st century, how can we be comfortable with the fact that over 19 million households do not have a mobile or in-home subscription? Imagine if an electricity outage like the Northeast blackout occurred every day. Simply put, the country needs to make an aggressive case to reach universal broadband adoption. But what does that even mean? Compared to electricity and water, do we understand all the ways broadband impacts individual and community wellbeing?

Based on an initial scan of academic and applied research, the short answer is no. With communities all across the country exploring ways to overcome the digital divide, and with Congress sending clear signals about the importance to address rural disconnect, now is an opportune time to help policymakers and practitioners understand the benefits of pursuing new infrastructure, public policies, and training programs.

For us, that process begins with understanding where the current state of knowledge is clear and where it falls short. First, definitions matter. When we refer to broadband, we are referring to three distinct but interrelated parts of the sector. The first is the digital telecommunications infrastructure, whether wireless or wireline technologies, that enable high-speed exchanges of data.

It also improves the productivity and profitability of large, small and home-based businesses and allows them to compete in local, national and global markets. Broadband helps government agencies improve quality, lower costs and increase transparency by improving internal operations and making it easier for residents to interact with them online.

Broadband networks enhance educational experiences by providing students and teachers with access to an array of resources, including text-based materials, photos, videos, music, animations, interactive lessons and oral history collections. Broadband also opens classroom walls, allowing students to participate in distance learning opportunities at any time from any location they can access the internet, such as libraries, school and home.

Broadband makes remote access to clinical services possible for patients and provides significantly improved, cost-effective access to quality health care. It also allows physicians to monitor their patients through innovative home health devices, avoiding expensive house calls and giving patients real-time feedback.

Broadband, particularly wireless broadband, is becoming increasingly indispensable to the interoperability of police, fire, health and other government entities that protect the public in both day-to-day and crisis situations. This involves rapid disaster response systems, effective early warning and public alert systems, disaster preparation programs, remote security monitoring and backup systems for public safety communications networks. Broadband enables buildings to communicate with utilities and utilities to communicate with each other and the energy market, providing real-time information to both buildings and homes.

These include smart buildings and smart grids, which hold great promise for dramatic reductions and greater efficiencies in energy consumption. Broadband allows teleworkers opportunities to more readily live and work in locations of their own choosing, without having to be within commuting distance of a corporate center or another base location.

Broadband can play a significant role in revitalizing previously blighted urban communities. Compared to their urban counterparts with high-speed access, our students are receiving an inferior learning experience. Online learning opportunities for all citizens are tremendous. The internet is our modern encyclopedia and university. So-called Massive Open Online Courses are now widely available ushering in an era of democratization of education around the world.

And yet in western Massachusetts many of our students can be found after hours sitting outside the local library to perform rudimentary internet-based research! Internet access affects our lives in many ways. Police and emergency personnel depend on internet-based communication networks during crisis situations to access critical information quickly and securely.