California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order near the end of October to make it easier for the state to build broadband networks. According to the official press release, the goal of the order is to ensure all government agencies are using the best technologies to serve the people and create a broadband task force that lets experts from government and business work together to identify and eliminate obstacles to making broadband Internet access available across the state.
"California is home to the greatest technology entrepreneurs. Let's show the world what we can do," said Gov. Schwarzenegger at the UC Davis Health System Pediatric Telehealth Colloquium in San Francisco, where a doctor examined an 11-year old leukemia patient by video about 100 miles away in Sacramento. "If we want to stay number one in technology, we need action. In countries like Japan and South Korea, the people have access to great technologies at lower costs than anywhere in America. We can do that. Michigan has one of the largest wireless broadband networks in the country. We can do that. That's why I'm signing an executive order to help make California a leader in the telecommunications revolution."
After his speech to the colloquium, the Governor joined Silicon Valley CEOs and executives to discuss the economic development that increased broadband adoption would spur. "Broadband will help build California so we can grow our economy by competing in the global marketplace," said Gov. Schwarzenegger. "California must remain competitive so we continue to attract the best, brightest and most creative workforce in the world."
Research conducted on the California "One Gigabyte or Bust" Broadband Initiative estimated that enabling broadband access for 50 percent of Californians would have enormous economic impacts on the state, adding over $365 billion annually to the state's economy within seven years and helping create or retain two million sustainable jobs. Similarly, the California Communications Association estimates that every dollar invested in broadband networks generates $3 in economic activity, and that every $1 billion in telecom capital spending equates to 7,000 new telecom jobs—including jobs in network construction, engineering, operations and the creation of new equipment and products.
A U.S. Commerce Department study released this year found that the availability of broadband is directly tied to business growth—especially among new technology-intensive firms. The Governor's office believes that greater broadband access will directly support California's world-leading technology industry—creating jobs both in the communications sector and for high-tech companies like Intel, Google, Yahoo!, and eBay, which rely on Internet usage to drive business. They also feel that increasing broadband deployment will also further support the California economy by making the state an attractive home for the nation's—and the world's—preeminent scientists and researchers.
To read the full text of the executive order, see the official press release Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Executive Order to Help Make California the Leader in Telecommunications Revolution.
