Gigabit networks should be national priority, says IEEE committee

April 12, 2005 | Source: KurzweilAI

The United States should deploy widespread wired and wireless gigabit networks as a national priority, according to a white paper from the IEEE-USA Committee on Communications and Information Policy (CCIP).

“Providing Ubiquitous Gigabit Networks in the United States,” issued 14 March, says that our nation must act promptly to ensure that a new generation of broadband networks – of gigabit per second speed – is ubiquitous and available to all. Failure to act will “relegate the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure to an inferior competitive position” and undermine the future of the U.S. economy.

Omnipresent U.S. gigabit networks, readily achievable by deploying optical fiber and high-speed wireless, would carry numerous benefits, the report says. These include providing the U.S. economy with superior ability to compete globally; stimulating economic activity in digital home entertainment; enhancing online education and training; and facilitating health care remote diagnosis and consultation (telemedicine).

IEEE-USA-Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers news release