Bush Promises 'Aggressive' Expansion of Broadband
Thu Jun 13, 9:31 PM ET

By Adam Entous

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush ( news - web sites) told high-tech executives on Thursday that federal regulators would take steps to expand high-speed Internet access but offered few details about the administration's plans.

"It's time for us to move with an agenda," said Bush, who has come under pressure from industry groups and lawmakers to outline a national strategy for making broadband Internet access more widespread and more affordable.

Republicans and Democrats have made broadband policy a priority, courting support from the high-tech industry, which, even in hard times, is an important source of campaign contributions ahead of the November congressional elections.

While lawmakers in both parties say bringing broadband to more Americans would spur economic growth and raise living standards, they disagree over how to change regulations to stimulate competition and boost consumer demand.

"This country must be aggressive about the expansion of broadband," Bush told executives at a high-tech forum held next to the White House.

While he credited his administration with "doing a pretty good job of working to eliminate hurdles and barriers to get broadband implemented," Bush said he expected the Federal Communications Commission ( news - web sites) (FCC ( news - web sites)) to do more.

"A lot of the action is going to come through the FCC," Bush said. "I'm confident that the chairman and the board is focusing on policies that will bring high-speed Internet service, will create competition, will keep the consumers in mind."

The FCC is reviewing its options for how best to accelerate the roll-out of high-speed Internet access.

"We very much appreciate that, by his words and actions today, the president now is personally engaged," said Telecommunications Industry Association President Matthew Flanigan.

Jeffery Eisenach and Randolph May, experts who served on the Bush administration's transition team for the commission, said the president's remarks gave FCC Chairman Michael Powell a green light to move ahead on broadband deregulation.

"Many of us have attributed the slow pace of activity at the FCC to concerns that it might face political opposition to any deregulatory steps it takes," Eisenach said. "Any basis for such concerns, at least as far as the White House is concerned, has now been erased."

Bush also told the executives that he would press Congress to make the research and development tax credit permanent.

LAWMAKERS STRUGGLE

Lawmakers have struggled to find ways to encourage more Americans to sign up for broadband access, which at an average of $50 per month costs roughly twice as much as a dial-up connection.

In recent weeks, Democrats in Congress have stepped up pressure on Bush to develop a strategy that would promote capital investment in broadband infrastructure and stimulate demand through loans and grants.

In a letter to Bush on Wednesday, Democratic leaders in the Senate and the House of Representatives cast the issue as part of the congressional debate over homeland security. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said broadband access would provide the bandwidth necessary for high-level encryption and for real-time communications between police and doctors who will respond to future terrorist attacks.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a possible Democratic presidential candidate in the 2004 election, has introduced legislation that would give the White House six months to find ways to stimulate both the supply and demand of high-speed Internet access.

Lieberman said he would also propose legislation that the FCC and other federal agencies take a more active approach in promoting broadband Web access, including its use in areas such as education, health care and defense.

In his remarks to business leaders including AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case, Bush credited the industry with helping give the U.S. military an edge in the war on terrorism, citing advances in precision-guided munitions and the Predator unmanned reconnaissance planes used in Afghanistan ( news - web sites).

"In the old days there would be columns of tanks and artillery moving here and airplanes flying there," Bush said. "Now we're facing sophisticated killers who hide in caves, who communicate in shadowy ways and who are plenty lethal."

"We're going to win the war because of our resolve and our determination and our love for freedom," he added. "We're also going to win the war thanks to the incredible...technological breakthroughs that we have achieved here in America."

Bush also issued a warning to the high-tech companies that do business with the federal government.

"I was interested to read that our government plans to spend $53 billion on information technology next year. Now, if you're one of the recipients of that $53 billion, make sure that the product actually works, please."