Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (39126)	7/17/2001 2:25:42 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Broadband Could Add $500 Billion to Economy July 16, 2001 <<WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Widespread use of high-speed Internet service by Americans could contribute as much as $500 billion annually to the U.S. economy, a new study by the Brookings Institution released on Monday found. Consumers would benefit from online home shopping, entertainment, traditional telephone and health care services, as well as reduced commuting, adding $200 billion to the economy if half the country has the high-speed service or $400 billion if almost all Americans have it, the study said. Plus, the higher consumer demand will also provide a boost to manufacturers of computers, software and entertainment products, which would add another $50 billion to $100 billion to the economy, according to the study done by economist Robert Crandall and engineering consultant Charles Jackson. ``The impact of broadband by any measure -- in terms of GDP (news - web sites), jobs, U.S. productivity and efficiency -- will be profound,'' said Jackson. ``We're looking at a transformative technology: one that doesn't just crate change at the margins of an economic system, but at its core.'' The study comes as the U.S. economy is slowing, in part because of the fallout in the technology sector with the telecommunications industry suffering much of the pain. Several providers of broadband services have gone belly-up, including NorthPoint (Nasdaq:NPNTQ - news) and WinStar Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:WCII - news) The study included all types of high-speed Internet service offered, digital subscriber line (DSL), cable modems, satellites and wireless devices, among others. Industry estimates project 8 percent of American homes have high speed Internet service, known as broadband, and local telephone companies like Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - news) and SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - news) are pushing for legislation that would increase their incentives for deployment. Reps. Billy Tauzin and John Dingell have proposed legislation that would eliminate requirements that dominant local telephone carriers open their networks before they can offer long-distance data services. At present, Verizon, SBC, BellSouth Corp. (NYSE:BLS - news), and Qwest Communications (NYSE:Q - news), all created from the 1984 breakup of AT&T, must prove their local networks are open to rivals before they can sell long-distance voice and data services. The Tauzin-Dingell measure would also eliminate requirements that the Bells unbundle certain network elements and line-sharing necessary for competitors to gain access to the local network but would require the Bells to deploy high-speed Internet service in hard-to-reach and rural areas. While analysts expect the measure to pass the House, key lawmakers in the Senate have made it clear the bill will not pass in its current form.>>