HUD Secretary Donovan on the Importance of Broadband to Housing

Thanks for posting, Melanie.

I’ve heard arguments against people’s right to broadband Internet, most of which were re-hashed arguments against other new technologies that have since become ingrained in our society. Would anyone think that the poor should not have access to running water, electricity, or a telephone? When all of these technologies first arrived on the scene, the same arguments were made: “it’s not a right, it’s a convenience;” “you can survive without a telephone;” etc. I would argue that the Internet is so ubiquitous in American society that not having access to it would negatively affect one’s ability to life in the modern age. Just one example: imagine job-hunting without access to the Internet.

As for whether enterprise should be involved, I think doing so is a major misstep, especially for the Internet, which should remain a bastion of free speech. Corporations are required to only care about their bottom line, and not freedom of speech. Imagine if a corporation gave you access to the Internet and they shut you down when you blogged something unsavory about them. Oh wait,it already happened:

scholarsandrogues.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/att-say-bad-things-about-us-and-well-cancel-your-internets/

I think the more options we have with Internet access, the better, The problem is, though, that America only has 11 major Internet providers, which severely limits our access as it is (huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/communications-breakdown_b_494874.html).

Just my $.02. Thanks for posting!