Info Tech

I can't guarantee that it won't be another year before I post here, but this seems like the best way to communicate for right now!

This morning, I attended the policy advisory meeting of the Information Technology and Communications Committee (ITC) for the National League of Cities (NLC). We heard from Blair Levin, the Executive Director of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Initiative. The FCC will release the National Broadband Plan in two or three days. He discussed elements of this plan with the committee. The ITC Committee consists of city councilmembers and mayors from around the country. I am a member of the Steering Committee, as well, which works on policy creation that is later adopted by the Policy Committee, and eventually also adopted by the National League of Cities Executive Board.
The National Broadband Plan was requested by Congress. Mr. Levin explained that the main philosophy of the plan is deployment: getting broadband access to all communities and all Americans.
He pointed out that public service providers are the sectors that are really lagging in adoption of these technologies. He pointed out: “At a bank, you don’t communicate the way that you did ten years ago. Now, you often communicate online at home. At the hospital, information is shared the same way as twenty years ago, you talk, and they write down information on a piece of paper. In high school, kids still carry around their backpack with the same 30 pounds of books. That is going to change.” I would add that it’s already changing: in Kent, the middle schools that I work with in my real job, as a yearbook printer, already provide laptops to every student. They carry those from class to class, along with a backpack of books.
Technology use makes jurisdiction complicated. You can see that in application of sales tax. Amazon recently stopped working with companies in Colorado, I believe, because they needed to apply the state sales tax.
Sometimes state and federal regulations create barriers to technological innovation. Part of the National Broadband Plan addresses some of these barriers and the need to tackle them and reduce barriers. I am personally interested in how open government transparency laws in Washington have impacted adoption of technologies by cities. The need to be completely open often results in councilmembers who say they would never blog, are afraid to communicate by email or with constituents through Facebook or Twitter. I want to see state laws that encourage adoption of technology and use of technology for more transparency and open government. Our residents are becoming more and more familiar with these tools and government should be right there with them.
Mr. Levin closed by saying “We need to make sure our broadband connections are second to none in the world. We have led the world as a country by leading in railroad, electricity infrastructure. We need to that with broadband or our children and their children’s children will suffer.”
I think this is so true. I am looking forward to the release of the National Broadband Plan this week (available at www.broadband.gov).