Obama Looks Down Under For Broadband Plan

oranghutan writes "The Obama administration is looking to the southern hemisphere for tips on how to improve the broadband situation in the US. The key telco adviser to the president, Sarah Crawford, has met with Australian telco analysts recently to find out how the Aussies are rolling out their $40 billion+ national broadband network. It is also rumored that the Obama administration is looking to the Dutch and New Zealand situations for inspiration too. The article quotes an Aussie analyst as saying: 'There needs to be a multiplier effect in the investment you make in telecoms — it should not just be limited to high-speed Internet. That is pretty new and in the US it is nearly communism, that sort of thinking. They are not used to that level of sharing and going away from free-market politics to a situation whereby you are looking at the national interest. In all my 30 years in the industry, this is the first time America is interested in listening to people like myself from outside.'"

Comments

Re:We're looking to AUSTRALIA for advice on broadb

[MyFirstNameIsPaul]

So why have they saddled them with massive amounts of debt that they can never hope to pay off? Why does the suicide rate continue to rise? These things to don't seem like fair trade-offs.

Re:You don't have to look outside the USA

[brkello]

How the hell is this insightful? Are you all really that stupid? How is having a non-profit government run option a monopoly when you can still get private for-profit insurance?

This country is seriously lost. The corporations control the media and you sheep just lap it up without using your brains. Consistently voting against your best interest and only in the interest of the richest 5%. Hating anything the government does and happily cheering on the CEOs that get paid millions as their companies fail.

The worst thing is that your stupidity is costing me (and yourself) money. Having something that could actually reduce the cost of health insurance and forcing them to compete for once (they are like MLB and are not subject to anti-competition laws). And the rest of the world looks at us like we are idiots because we are fighting against the government helping us all out. Pathetic. You all just make me sick.