Building Out Broadband Creates New Jobs

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

between AT&T and T-Mobile means good newsfor the economy. Together, AT&T and T-Mobile will build a network that will provide high-speed wireless Internet access to more than 97 percent of Americans, many in rural areas. Besides improving broadband availability and quality of service, the investment needed to build this network is expected to create as many as 96,000 newjobs. “Broadband deployment is a powerful job creator and will meaningfully improve the quality of life for millions of Americans,” said for- mer Congressman Rick Boucher, Internet Innovation Alliance (ITA) honorary chairman.“There are very few steps that can be taken that would do more to help the American economy today than extending broadbandservice nationwide.” According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), this additional infrastructure investmentwill result in: Direct jobs with the carriers; Supplier jobs with companies that provide products and services including network equipment, handset devices and software applications; and * Induced jobs as a result of the general increase in economic activity. As a result of the merger, an additional $8billion will be invested in building out this network, resulting in 1 million more square miles of network coverage nationwide, including currently uncovered small towns and rural areas. Better broadband access will also provide benefits to economic development—particularly small businesses, education and health care. Faster data speeds pave the way for innovation and growth. Small businesses will have the opportunity to grow their cus- tomer base, improve their day-to- day operations, create greater organizational efficiencies and increase their profits. Efforts to expand broadband are expected to create tens of thousandsofjobs. Additionally, network expansion will benefit local businesses by enabling them to link to markets across the country and around the world, competing in the global marketplace, no matter wheretheyare located. Increasing access to broadband will also allow students to benefit from opportunities, including advanced distance-learning applications and unique educational resources, whether from the li- brary down thestreet or a university across the Atlantic Ocean. With a wireless device such as a smartphoneorlaptop, a student can tap into a world of online education and better reach his or her full academic potential, even in settings outside traditional classroom walls. Finally, increasing the availability of high-speed broadband Internet will give more Americans access to telemedicine, saving money and saving lives. Telemedicine helps increase patient access to primary and specialty care, allows for remote health monitoring and, especially in rural communities, helps patients cut down on long-distance travel to and from health care facilities. Broadband expansion means better opportunities related to jobs, education and health care.

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