Sidebar: The Future Is Fiber

The core of a national broadband strategy is fiber-optic cable -- fiber running to almost every home and business in the United States.

Such a network would significantly change America's economy -- it would affect our way of working and playing as profoundly as did the telegraph, telephone, railroad and original Internet.

A fiber network is an investment that would last 50 years or more. The network would carry two-way high-definition video streams and convert every high-definition TV set into a video conferencing station. This addresses a fundamental human need -- to actually see our co-workers and friends.

For the first time, working at home -- true telework -- would be possible because workers would connect with and see each other in real time. Whole technology businesses would collaborate on developing 21st-century products. Students would be able to attend classes and interact with their classmates from home. Quality of life would improve as families scattered across a region would talk together, while seeing one another.

This fiber network would also support high-speed wireless, because wireless access points can be added at any place the fiber terminates -- at every home and business.

The network would also significantly reduce commute trips and travel. This, in turn, would reduce our dependence on imported oil and the production of greenhouse gases.

Fiber broadband with two-way video and similar applications are a fundamentally new economic network and engine for America.

Bill Schrier is chief technology officer of Seattle.