Although the U.S. once led the world in Internet deployment and innovation, our nation continues to plummet in international rankings in terms of broadband adoption, speeds and costs. As a result, there is growing support for an affirmative national broadband policy to promote more affordable and ubiquitous access to high-bandwidth connectivity. Over the last several years, the e-NC Authority has realized the need for a comprehensive examination of the condition of broadband access and deployment in both North Carolina and the United States as a whole. In a white paper developed for the e-NC Authority by the Baller Herbst Law Group in Washington, D.C., primary author Jim Baller presents the following data and recommendations:

• The growing benefits of broadband to economic development, education, health care, public safety, telework, urban revitalization, environmental sustainability, and other key areas of American life;
• Broadband deployment efforts in leading Asian and European nations and how they differ from the U.S. approach;
• The level of bandwidth capacity that will be sufficient to enable America to thrive in the emerging knowledge-based global economy;
• How national, state and local broadband strategies can contribute to America's success;
• And policy recommendations to help North Carolina and the United States capture the full benefits of broadband in the years ahead.

The Baller Herbst report was first released to the public on June 23, 2008 through an event sponsored by the New America Foundation. The e-NC Authority's blog contains a video from this event, which featured remarks from FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein. Other speakers included Jane Smith Patterson of the e-NC Authority, Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group, Diana G. Oblinger of EDUCAUSE, Stan Fendley of Corning, Inc. and the Fiber-to-the-Home Council and Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation.

Jim Baller testified before the North Carolina General Assembly House Select Committee on High Speed Internet in Rural Areas on May 12, 2008. His testimony has been divided into 12 videos and posted on the e-NC Authority YouTube site.

Excerpts from the report have been used to create the "Broadband Benefits" sections of our website.