Digital Quality of Life: Understanding the Personal and Social Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
By Robert D. Atkinson and Daniel D. Castro
October 1, 2008

• In the new global economy, information technology (IT) is the major driver of both economic growth and improved quality of life.
• IT is the key enabler of many, if not most, of today’s key innovations and improvements in our lives and society €”from better education and health care, to a cleaner and more energy efficient environment, to safer and more secure communities and nations.
• Although the emerging digital economy has produced enormous benefits, the best is yet to come.

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FCC Fifth Report
June 12, 2008

• Advanced telecommunications capability is meeting the challenge.   Capacity and availablity are increasing.
• Broadband depolyment is increasing to important contituencies like rural Americans, the disabled, and minorities.
• OECD rankings are not accurate.

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State Efforts to Expand Broadband Access
National Governors Association
May 20, 2008

• Broadband communication is radically transforming the way in which Americans use the Internet by providing the ability to access voice, video, and data through a single network.
• There are benefits in having access to educational institutions or telemedicine applications through the Internet.
• The study recommends a variety of successful approaches to spur broadband in the states.

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Explaining International Broadband Leadership
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
By Robert D. Atkinson, Daniel K. Correa, Julie A. Hedlund
May 1, 2008

• The United States is behind in broadband deployment, speed and price but we can learn from other countries.
• Robust and effective national broadband policies are important for the United States to improve.
• Broadband providers need the economic incentives to invest in broadband infrastructure both in rural and urban areas, and give consumers the incentives to subscribe to broadband.   Broadband is important to bring to all Americans.

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The Economic Impact of Stimulating Broadband Nationally
Connected Nation
February 21, 2008

Adopting a national policy to stimulate the deployment of broadband in underserved areas of the U.S. could have dramatic and far-reaching
economic impacts. For instance, just a seven percentage point increase in broadband adoption could result in:

•   $92 billion through an additional 2.4 million jobs per year created
• $662 million saved per year in reduced healthcare costs
• $6.4 billion per year in mileage saving from unnecessary driving
• $18 million in carbon credits associated with 3.2 billion fewer lbs of CO2 emissions per year in the United States
• $35.2 billion in value from 3.8 billion more hours saved per year from accessing broadband at home
• $134 billion per year in total direct economic impact of accelerating broadband across the United States

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Home Broadband Adoption 2007
John Horrigan, Pew Internet And American Life Project
June 2007

• 47% of all adult Americans have a broadband connection at home as of early 2007, a five percentage point increase from early 2006.
• 40% of African Americans now have a broadband connection at home, a nine percentage point increase from early 2006.

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Advancing Healthcare Through Broadband-Opening Up a World of Possibilities
Internet Innovation Alliance
October 24, 2007

• It is clear that expanded broadband service can enable improved health care at a reduced cost for more people.
• Among the most advanced initiatives using broadband to improve health care is enhanced medical recordkeeping that knits together electronic databases, giving patients and authorized providers instant and centralized access to information such as health histories, treatment regimens and medical images.

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FCC And The Unregulation Of The Internet
Jason Oxman, FCC Office of Plans and Policy
July 1999

• The success of the Internet has not been an accidental development. Market forces have driven the Internet’s growth, and the FCC has had an important role to play in creating a deregulatory environment in which the Internet could flourish.
• This paper examines the history of the FCC’s data policies and the ways in which those policies have benefited the Internet.

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Measuring Broadband’s Economic Impact
William H. Lehr, Carlos A. Osorio, Sharon E. Gillett, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Marvin A. Sirbu, Carnegie Mellon University
December 2005

• To date, these discussions have suffered from a lack of solid empirical data measuring the economic impact of broadband.
• Communities in which mass-market broadband was available by December 1999 experienced more rapid growth in (1) employment, (2) the number of businesses overall, and (3) businesses in IT-intensive sectors.

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Common Sense About Network Neutrality
David Farber, Carnegie Mellon University; Gerald Faulhaber, Wharton School and University of Pennsylvania Law School; Michael L. Katz, University of California, Berkeley; Christopher Yoo, Vanderbilt University
June 6, 2006

• Keep the internet free of regulations.
• Congressional initiatives aimed at regulating the internet threatens to stifle the emergence of the innovations.

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