Want to improve the economy? Then demand better broadband. The National Broadband Plan attempts to create a path from broadband policies to economic recovery. Policymakers at all levels of government, though, need to watch municipal efforts such as those in Kansas City, Kan. because it’s at the local level where economic recovery has a fighting chance to ripple out through counties and then states.
Google has said one of its main goals with its gigabit network giveaway is to create a test bed for all kinds of wonderful technology apps, but independent of Google’s intent, expect the municipally owned Kansas City network to also act as a test bed for showing how broadband can jumpstart local economic development. From the outset, Kansas City’s government, civic leaders and stakeholders pursued this deal from the perspective of “What can you do with a gigabit?” to affect various business and personal economic outcomes.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Google, Kansas City and the Nation’s Gigabit Economic Policy: Broadband News and Analysis «
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