Our New Sputnik Moment

OUR NEW SPUTNIK MOMENT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Charles Benton, Benton Foundation]
[Commentary] As America falls further behind in the world on broadband, we must seize upon the lessons of one chilly night 50 years ago tomorrow — Oct. 4, 1957. As a small beeping sphere — dubbed Sputnik — hurtled quietly through space, its significance reverberated loudly throughout America’s living rooms, boardrooms, and the halls of Congress. On that one night, 50 years ago this week, America looked up into the skies and saw our scientific leadership in the world fall from first to second. That singular event made it un-mistakenly clear that we had lost our technological superiority, and necessitated an unprecedented, national effort to retake our lead. That night is remembered forever as “Sputnik Night.” Our nation’s commitment to ubiquitous and affordable communications has never been more important than now. Like putting a man on the moon, making broadband as common as telephone service must be key goals in the 21st century. We are only on the threshold of an information technology revolution if we preserve and strengthen our guarantee of universal, affordable communication access for all Americans. So what kind of effort does it take today? We must 1) devise a comprehensive, national, digital strategy, 2) create a Broadband Innovation Fund that invests in harnessing the power of broadband and information technology to boost education, reduce health care costs, encourage telecommuting, reduce greenhouse emissions, transform our emergency communication infrastructure, improve homeland security, and raise standards of living, and 3) extend broadband’s reach to those who can benefit most. And like 50 years ago, we must also regain our leadership in research, science and technology education.
http://thehill.com/op-eds/our-new-sputnik-moment-2007-10-03.html