squawk

Our Biggest Infrastructure Need? Think Broadband

Biggest infrastructure need? While broadband to less populated should certainly be part of any national infrastructure policy, your hypothesis is completely misplaced as a consequence of decades of neglect of the nation's physical infrastructure. By physical infrastructure, I'm referring to roads, bridges, mass transit, inter-city rail and appurtenant facilities. Healhty to any economy is the ability to move goods and natural resources where they can be put into the stream of commerce.

You can click to initiate an e-commerce transaction all you want from your 100 mbps connection, but if the ability to move that good or resource from its source to its destination is impaired due to incapacity, decay, or failure, such investment in broadband would be for naught.

Unfortunately, when it comes to basic economics, investment in less-populated areas is not the most efficient way to turn around a rapidly slowing economy. Your article is well-intended, but certainly not focused upon priorities.