Internet around the globe and the state

I love my Firefox latest BBC headlines in my Toolbar. Besides the Day in Pictures, there are stories you will never find in the MSM. I found this one today that got me thinking, if we can truly be poised to make an economic recovery we need to face some hard facts. Broadband World: Mapping the global picture.

more below the fold...

The chart on this website puts the US 19th in speed behind Luxembourg on the list of countries around the world with Japan way out ahead and with 90% coverage.

It may be that our "free market is to blame"

Here we have maps of wireless broadband coverage areas in NC.

Really only the major metropolitan areas are represented. We are seriously behind on the infrastructure needed to compete in the global economy.

Will North Carolina's stimulus money be spent well to bring us up to speed AND full coverage?

It's a sad state of news coverage in the reddest parts of NC. Local newspapers have a conservative slant, talk radio is cheap and the internet access is not. It's no wonder the politics of these places are stuck in the red.

I asked Rep. Brad Miller about this problem and he told me that there are stimulus monies slated to bring broadband to more areas. He also stated that it's a necessity to attract business to these places. No business would locate where they didn't have high speed access.

I think it's a key issue to bring the economy back. I hope we do it right.