The Connected States of America

Those who watched the State of the Union address last week heard President Obama talk about a number of goals for the next few years.

While this speech was markedly different from State of the Union speeches in the past, I feel that Obama’s focus on the Internet and related technologies was an important point.

The fact is that the Internet will be the most important resource in the next decade. It is not only a communication platform, but also the fastest growing platform for businesses.

The Internet, or, rather, access to the Internet, needs to be a priority on our national agenda. Obama stated in his speech, “Within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans.”

This is a great goal, but before I can get behind such a lofty ideal, we need to have a concrete plan in place. It is crucial to focus on the infrastructure aspect, because without access, or even decent access, the Internet is completely useless to individual consumers.

The President went on to talk about how the United States used to have the best infrastructure, but that our position has fallen in recent years, and that is very true. The simple fact is that we are not at the top of the heap when it comes to infrastructure, especially high-speed Internet infrastructure.

Only when lawmakers at the national, state and local level – as well as the telecommunication companies – make it a top priority will things begin to change for the better.

So what can we do to fix this issue in the United States?

First and foremost, there must be a renewed focus on research and development. We must develop ways to incentivize new technologies that will provide low-cost broadband to all citizens in the United States, be they in rural or urban areas.

Next, we must begin to deploy these new technologies and existing technologies at a higher rate than we are currently doing.

The President talked about wireless Internet access (4G, a faster network than current 3G) as an answer to our problems. That may very well be the case, but the fact is that in many rural areas, 3G has not even been fully deployed.

If you look at a map of Mississippi detailing the cellular coverage you will see 3G in Jackson, the coast, and Oxford (we got it because of the presidential debate in 2008), and then along I-55.

While it may be easy to say we can cover 98 percent of Americans within five years, it may prove to be more difficult in the long run. We need to find areas that have poor coverage, both from wireless and wired (Cable and DSL) networks) and focus on those.

It will take large-scale investment from both private and public entities to achieve such a goal.

I have every bit of faith that every citizen in the United States will be able to have coverage, but it is going to be an uphill battle.

The United States can be a connected society with a little time, money and American ingenuity.