Walter B. McCormick, Jr.

President and CEO, United States Telecom Association

Recently, several local jurisdictions have announced plans to invest taxpayer dollars into government-owned and operated telecommunications enterprises that would compete with existing telecom, wireless, cable, and high-speed Internet networks.

This is not an appropriate role for government, nor should the government invest taxpayer dollars into running local supermarkets, department stores, or gas stations. So why is telecommunications any different?

As the Industrial Age economy developed, some societies believed that the right approach to speeding services to consumers, ensuring the lowest price and best quality, was through government-owned enterprises and central state planning. America, however, chose a different approach–private investment, competition, and the free market. America's approach led to the
greatest innovation, the broadest consumer choices, the lowest prices, the highest standard of living, the most rapid social progress, and the most resilient economy the world has ever known.

In today's Information Economy, America must again make a choice. Should it look to taxpayer financing and government-run enterprises to drive consumer choice and technological innovation in the most important sector of our economy? Or should it look to free enterprise, which
has resulted in 93.2% of Americans with access to a broadband Internet connection at home? As companies are investing, competing, and risking private capital to meet the needs of the communities we serve, we believe that America's continued world leadership in the Technology Age is best ensured by reliance on the entrepreneurial spirit and free enterprise.

Donald J. Borut

Executive Director, National League of Cities

In today's world, access to high-speed Internet services is essential. For municipalities, reliable broadband service attracts businesses, supports urban renewal, addresses the digital divide, and helps localities provide core services more effectively. A solid information infrastructure is as important to a city's economic plan as transportation hubs, so municipalities must retain their ability to provide ready access to high-speed services for their citizens.

President Bush has established a priority for universal affordable access to broadband technology by 2007. Yet in areas such as Brooklyn, N.Y., small businesses have difficulty obtaining reasonably priced broadband services. As a result, cities like Coldwater, Michigan, have stepped in, deploying broadband using municipal utilities. In Kansas City, wireless "hot spots" have been built through public-private partnerships.

The National League of Cities supports the development of broadband systems that will promote innovation and consumer choice. Government involvement has often been necessary to provide essential services to our citizens–from rural electrification to public libraries. To assume that broadband technologies are a special type of service outside the purview of the public sector doesn't make sense when you consider what our cities and towns already provide every day.

Should cities stop providing water to their citizens because bottled water is sold in stores? Should public libraries close to avoid competition with a new bookstore? Of course not. Broadband access is not a luxury good that can be offered only to the most attractive customers. Cities must be able to step in when and wherever this vital service is needed.