For those of us in the telecom software business (like myself) -- fortunate enough to spend our careers evangelizing the economic benefits of high-speed broadband and fiber network services, this week easily felt like a birthday week, didn’t it?  You may laugh at that but it is totally true.  

Of course, when I read about President Obama’s trip to Cedar Falls, IA to show his support for rural broadband projects and initiatives I felt pride in my company’s mission to get folks connected to high-speed broadband.  But to see that, during Obama’s visit, that the Cedar Falls team gave the President a demonstration of how to splice fiber optic cable…man, that made my inner fiber-geek smile a mile wide!! 

We’re doing it, folks!  Months ago, I blogged about the FCC’s chairman Wheeler [see that post here] and the strides he was making to get the broadband initiative more of a priority in the media.  But as of this week, our principal message of how important it is to get communities connected to a broadband fiber super-highway is being delivered to the nation, by our commander-in-chief!  Not too shabby, huh? 

Some very simple things can be accomplished for communities that participate in high-speed, broadband initiatives… 

• Information is numero uno!  It’s empowering, and is still KING!  We need fast, affordable and convenient ways to access all Internet technologies.
  
  
• Breaking down geographic boundaries.  Yes, location is critical in terms of opportunity…but building virtual communities through high-speed broadband is giving small business, government projects and education a way to connect with the world through a screen, which garners all kinds of advanced opportunities for those with that access.
  
  
• Spark economic growth. This is not about just downloading movies, playing games and surfing the internet.  With the help of high-speed broadband, local jobs are created to support it. Better technology means better tools to track efficiencies, analyze expenditures and automate processes across your cities that save monies…so you can put those net profits and monies to better use. 

 Want to watch the video of the President's speech? Click here! Or if you prefer, you can read the President's announcement - click here!