If you’re reading this, you probably already know that access to high-speed internet is good and important. But now we need to convince the powers-that-be that it’s not a luxury, but a necessary foundation for economic success. With information from Speed Matters.org , here’s how broadband helps economic growth and the creation of jobs.
Studies show that each additional $5 billion investment in broadband creates 250,000 jobs. Of those, 100,000 are direct and indirect jobs from telecom and IT equipment spending. The other 150,000 jobs come from “network effects” spurring new online applications and services.
With every percentage point increase in broadband penetration, employment expands by nearly 300,000 jobs, and jobs involved in the building and expansion of broadband networks pay 42 percent more than the average for manufacturing jobs in America.
From 1998 to 2002, employment in communities with broadband grew 1 percentage point more than in communities without it. This is because broadband networks attract investment to areas that would not otherwise be viable to many businesses such as rural areas and inner-city regions.
In addition, the expansion of energy efficient smart grids, which high speed communications are an integral part of, is expected to dramatically improve economic growth and provide thousands of new quality U.S. jobs.
America has fallen behind other nations in creating communications policies that effectively facilitate job growth and business advancement. The longer the U.S. waits to expand access to affordable broadband, the longer our economy will miss out on the enormous advantages of a connected country.
In the new global economy, access to broadband has become as essential to individual and community economic prosperity as electricity and roads, providing new opportunities for innovation, expansion and e-commerce. All Americans stand to benefit economically from a national high speed Internet network.