Obama has an unlikely new plan to bolster the economy.
In a YouTube video released by the White House on Tuesday, President Obama speaks to the importance of fast broadband Internet service, and announces his intention to make it accessible to more Americans as a means by which to strengthen the U.S. economy. “One of the things that I’m going to make an early announcement about this week,” Obama says in the video, “is the issue of getting faster broadband.”
In the video, Obama explains which world cities have the speediest Internet access. Alongside major global hubs like Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Paris is a small midwestern town: Cedar Falls, Iowa. “Communities like Cedar Falls have banded together to commit to broadband that works by bringing in new competition, leveraging municipal investments, and forming new partnerships to bring world-class Internet to places like this small Iowa town,” the White House said in a statement.
As to the relationship between fast broadband service and a strong economy, the president says cities like Cedar Falls, that invest their tax dollars in fast Internet service, have “a huge competitive advantage. It means a business can come in and locate there knowing that they can hook into world markets, products, services, anywhere around the globe.”
Obama will travel to Cedar Falls on Wednesday to discuss the plan further. More details will be revealed during next week’s State of the Union address.
Bridget Todd