The report, titled “The Telepresence Revolution”, looks into how these products and services are reducing carbon emissions, providing energy-efficient alternatives to business travel, and reducing costs. A few of the interesting finding are below. You may also be interested in a recent NextGenWeb interview with Beth Shiroishi of AT&T discussing the study.

· At an economy-wide view, by 2020 US and UK businesses with annual revenues of more than $1 billion can cut nearly 5.5 million CO2 emissions as a result of deploying almost 10,000 telepresence units. These reductions are equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from over one million passenger vehicles.

· US firms can reduce CO2 by 112,000 tonnes in 2010 to 963,000 tonnes in 2020. A total of almost 4.6 million tonnes in cumulative CO2 cuts.

· For US firms, net financial benefits from telepresence increase from $315 million in 2010 to over $3.5 billion in 2020. A total of over $15 billion in ten years.

A recent briefing on Capitol Hill hosted by the Clean Economy Network and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) touched on how broadband is enabling consumer energy tools and the smart grid. Smart grids are being developed across the country, and they will change the amount of control that consumers have over their energy consumption and monthly bills like never before. Presenters at the briefing focused their comments on how broadband providers and utility companies can work together to ensure that smart grids become commonplace.

Following the event, NextGenWeb caught up with Mike Brander, Vice President of Sales for Utility and Industrial at Verizon Wireless, and Tim Greeff, Political Director if the Clean Economy Network, to further discuss the role broadband is playing in enabling the smart grid.

Click below to view interviews as well as complete archived footage of the briefing.

• 90% of homes in the US have 2 broadband Internet providers to choose from.
• 95% of the U.S. population has access to wired broadband, supporting download speeds of 4 Mbps or more.
• 91% of Americans are happy with their broadband service, as a recent FCC report shows.

While there still remains some room for growth, it’s impossible to argue with 90-percentile statistics that show the strong movement of broadband Internet throughout the U.S. As Oldham points out, there is no need to “place inflexible growth-inhibiting regulations” on a “thriving marketplace.”

Steve Oldham is president and CEO of SureWest Communications and chairman of US Telecom Association.

Diaz believes broadband Internet is the key to future success in our great country. Access to such an amazing technological tool can help produce new jobs and economic opportunities to all communities, particularly those underserved. As the private sector continues to pour dollars into new and innovative broadband technology, the last thing the FCC needs to do is enforce unnecessary regulations to stifle this growth.

To read more, check out Manny Diaz’s opinion piece in the Miami Herald.

With America attempting to pull itself out of the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and with the national unemployment rate currently hovering just below 10%, one industry is stepping up to the plate and creating new American jobs – the communications industry. This memo released by PPI states, “Internet companies, along with firms engaged in wireless telecom and computer systems design, seem to be emerging as ‘job leaders’ in the next economic expansion.”

But what role will regulatory policy play in continuing this “job awakening” that we have seen in the communications industry? The answer depends on what types of regulatory policies are adopted moving forward. This memo by PPI calls for “countercyclical regulatory policy” to be applied to the telecommunications industry. Traditionally, this type of policy has been reserved for the financial industry. But Mandel argues that, “Countercyclical regulatory policy could bring enormous benefits. Investments would pour into the communications sector, and hiring would step up, as companies try to take advantage of the permissive regulatory period to build out their businesses.”

Read more of Mandel’s case here.

The message was clear: increased broadband regulation and potential classification under Title II of the Telecommunications Act would only create investor uncertainty, harming broadband investment and deployment, and the jobs that this sector creates. Mike Rollins, Managing Director of Research at Citi Group, stated, “When investors are looking at policy decisions they’re not just looking at what the FCC wants to accomplish today but what those policies can do over time.” For this reason, investor eyes are on Washington as the FCC began receiving public comments today as part of their Notice of Inquiry on how the regulatory framework of the Internet should look.

Click here to watch archived footage of the live stream from the event.

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