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Broadband 101: 

What is the Tauzin-Dingell Bill?

What is broadband and why should consumers care about it? Simply put, broadband is another name for an always-on, high speed Internet connection, many times faster than a 56K dial-up modem. Because of high prices and few suppliers, only about 7 percent of U.S. households subscribe to broadband service. The Tauzin-Dingell bill, or more formally H.R. 1542, the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act, is legislation written by Representatives John D. Dingell and Billy Tauzin (R-LA), to get broadband into more homes, businesses, hospitals, schools and universities.

Why is Broadband important to Michigan¡s economy and its families? In short, two reasons: more jobs for Michigan and faster connections for Internet users.

• Jobs: Of the more than 2.5 million workers who have lost their jobs since the recession began last year, 250,000 have been in the high tech and telecommunications industries. These are the types of high paying jobs that have helped increase the standard of living for many working families. A recent study by the New Millennium Research Council found that by building a nationwide broadband infrastructure, we will contribute to the creation of more than 1.2 million new and permanent jobs, more than 37,000 in Michigan alone. That is just one of the reasons why the AFL-CIO and the Communication Workers of America support the Tauzin-Dingell bill.

• Faster connections: Currently, most consumers in Michigan are hostage to 56K modem, dialup Internet service while much of the rest of the country speeds along on the Information Superhighway at speeds up to 30 times faster thanks to broadband connections. Federal Communications Commission data show that Michigan ranks near the bottom ¤ 37^th in homes and 40^th in schools with broadband Internet access. That is simply unacceptable and uncompetitive. Internet users know that the Internet loses much of its value when they are forced to endure the "World Wide Wait" for pictures, webpages and other information to download.

How will Tauzin-Dingell get broadband into Michigan¡s homes, schools and businesses? Michigan has been stuck in the slow lane of the Information Superhighway because of a decided lack of competition in the marketplace. Cable giants dominate the broadband Internet market. They control roughly 70 percent of the market share ¤ a virtual monopoly.

Tauzin-Dingell will provide incentives for local telephone companies to offer broadband service to more consumers, in direct competition with cable companies. The bill spurs competition by putting local telephone companies and cable companies on a level playing field.

When it becomes law, the Tauzin-Dingell bill will result in immediate and tangible benefits to Michiganders, such as a choice of broadband service providers, more widespread deployment of broadband, better service, and lower prices. Tauzin-Dingell will help put Michigan in the Information fast lane and we won¡t look back.

What Will Tauzin-Dingell Do For the Economy? The gains for our economy will not only be manifest in the added jobs through the construction of the physical network itself ¤ getting broadband deployed widely and quickly will boost the productivity of our economy as a whole. Our "E-conomy" depends in large part on access to information ¤ how quickly we can get it and how much we can handle. A faster Internet connection translates into more productivity and hence, more profitability, for Michigan business. In point of fact, a Brookings Institution economist recently concluded that adding more broadband connections could boost the economy by $500 billion per year.

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