Saturday, January 31, 2009

Cisco's Chambers: Time to broadband the U.S. economy

From an op-ed piece by Cisco chief John Chambers published earlier this month in the San Jose Mercury News:

Imagine what the United States could accomplish if our broadband speeds were not just competitive, but leading-edge. Imagine what broadband could do for health care: A medical specialist in Cleveland, Ohio, could do a virtual house call via high-definition video to a homebound retiree in Henderson, Nev. We have the technology now, but we need the connectivity. Imagine applying that same technology to education and changing the very nature of the way students learn — or the way we train workers.


Our economic challenges are too dire to merely rely on Band-Aids. It's time to broadband our economy. The innovation, the productivity and the growth that is possible with a proper broadband infrastructure is nearly limitless. The time to act is now. Doing so will not only help stabilize and stimulate a recovery but create the foundation for long-term prosperity and competitiveness.

1 comment:

eatswedishfish said...

Although Mr. Chambers cannot be considered non-biased with regards to his pro-broadband stance, he is a true believer in the power of broadband.

During my tenure with Cisco, although well compensated (but with high California overhead), the company reimbursed employees for their broadband connections in their homes. Mr. Chambers was always a proponent of working from home to be more productive and allow additional work-life balance. He also received considerably more employee productivity (including after hours) as the connection (and VPN access) would lure you to "check your email"; and you you end up spending an hour or so working on a project!

A very progressive company!