Editorial: U.S. on the fast track to speed

To keep pace with the rest of the world, The United States has to think fast.

The United States ranks 18th in Internet speeds among industrialized nations, according to CNN, with South Korea and Japan leading the race. South Korea has an average data transfer speed of 14.6 megabits per second and the U.S., a paltry 3.9.

These figures might change in the future, and at first glance, it seems for the better.

The Federal Communications Commission revealed some details of its broadband plan yesterday, according to CNN. It intends to use educational programs and an expansion of infrastructure to give 90 percent of Americans access to high-speed Internet at home by 2020, compared to 65 percent currently. The FCC’s definition of high-speed is greater than 768 kilobits per second.

The FCC is an independent agency formally charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, satellite, wire and cable.

According to the Communications Act of 1934, under which the FCC was established, the agency is responsible for providing rapid, efficient nationwide and worldwide communication. The FCC’s Internet plan is fully in accord with its purpose. However, that purpose might have some implications.

The FCC finds current accessibility a detriment to economic growth. It is plain to see that creating the necessary infrastructure would create jobs, invigorate rural regions and put America on the fast track to competing in the global market. The benefits are easily understood, but the need might not be.

Has Internet, specifically high-speed Internet, become a right for every American? Similar to public library access in past generations, it seems Internet has permeated American culture enough to become a basic need. The plan isn’t for dial-up, it’s for broadband. Although it is yesterday’s privileged Internet class, broadband boasts considerably faster connection than its dial-up counterpart and thus proves an acceptable new standard for U.S. high-speed Internet.

Much of information exchange today, including pertinent medical and government information, is accessible via the Web.

Technology has a structure and function relationship. Each depend on the other. When Windows 95 was released, the average processor was about 200Mhz, roughly 0.2Ghz. Now Windows 7 has in part justified new lines of multicore, multigigahertz processors.

Internet sites have also evolved from pages of text to multimedia collages. Browsing with multiple sidebars and options for video requires fast Internet from the start.

Cable or DSL might be sufficient and efficient now, but future Internet accessibility will have to keep up with the data loads advanced technology will demand, as before.

Today’s technological circumstances have made the distinction for “high-speed” Internet a necessary one in the FCC’s plan. But there is a limit to how much can be gained from progress. Although the 18th ranking shows a need for improvement, it is hard to imagine using 1000 megabits-per-second speeds.

These infrastructure expansions by 2020 should probably be observed with a hint of prudence. The FCC formally regulates some forms of communication. Perhaps its hand in providing access to 25 percent more Americans will give the agency a stronger say in matters of the Internet. The traditionally unbound, mildly regulated form of communication might see a stronger government hand guiding its way in the future.