President Bush Says Universal Broadband by 2007

In a speech last week, President George W. Bush set a national target for broadband deployment.

"This country needs a national goal for broadband technology, for the spread of broadband technology. We ought to have a universal, affordable access for broadband technology by the year 2007, and then we ought to make sure as soon as possible thereafter, consumers have got plenty of choices when it comes to purchasing the broadband carrier.

"See, the more choices there are, the more the price will go down. And the more the price goes down, the more users there will be. And the more users there will be, the more likely it is America will stay on the competitive edge of world trade."

Later in the speech Bush said, "Let me say one thing about broadband -- we don't need to tax access to broadband. The Congress must not tax access to broadband technology if we want to spread it around."

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell issued the following statement following President Bush's speech:

"The president has set out a bold vision for broadband investment and deployment over the next four years. I look forward to working with my commission colleagues, Congress and the administration to deliver on this vision for the American people. Universal and affordable access to broadband is vital to the health and future growth of our economy."