Millions of Americans don't have access to the emerging industry of e-commerce because government regulations have slowed installation of the high-speed Internet backbone, according to a report released by iAdvance (www.iadvance.org).
The report, released at a news conference with U.S. Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), shows that not enough backbone hubs--high-speed on-ramps used to connect the world to the Internet--are being built around the U.S.
"The vast majority of Americans in inner cities and rural areas simply do not have access to the high-speed Internet and are unable to reap the full benefits of the digital economy. While people and businesses in the 'Disconnected Dozen' states are at the most serious risk, without a
significant increase in backbone deployment, this shortage is going to affect nearly every corner of the country," said co-author Erik Olbeter, formerly with the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, D.C.
Those who do not have access to backbone hubs must rely on slower telecommunications networks to connect to the Internet. These slower networks cannot support high-speed applications like those used in e-commerce, telemedicine and distance learning, according to the report.
Authors Olbeter and Matt Robinson studied how regulation affected the deployment of Internet backbone hubs and found that government restrictions on the transmission of data discouraged the installation of hubs. They believe that without these restrictions, more than twice as many hubs would be present in the 46 states included in the report.There are currently 984 hubs in the U.S.
"While people in Silicon Valley and New York City can access the Internet through advanced networks that deliver broadband applications at tremendous speeds, people in Arkansas, New Hampshire, and the other states in the 'Disconnected Dozen' must access the Internet through the digital equivalent of dirt roads," Olbeter said.
The states in the "Disconnected Dozen" are Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. For example, Arkansas has only two hubs, and the report predicts that it would have 28 if data transmission were not regulated.
"American consumers and businesses are clamoring for high-speed Internet access that allows them to easily buy and sell over the net, reduce inventory expenses, and take educational courses anywhere in the world from their own communities," Goodlatte said. "Unless we change the regulations that impede investment in Internet facilities, only those who live in our largest cities will enjoy those benefits."
Goodlatte, along with Boucher, is sponsoring legislation that would lift restrictions on data transmission and increase consumer choice in accessing the Internet. Ironically, he's well known in the Interactive gaming industry for introducing a bill--the Internet Gambling Prohibition Bill of 1997--that would have achieved just the opposite. The sister act to the much more publicized Kyl bill, which still looms in the Senate, fizzled quietly and hasn't resurfaced.