Eliot Spitzer, New York State's Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate, is pushing affordable broadband for New York State residents as part of his campaign to replace George Pataki in Albany.
Since 2001, the U.S. has dropped from fourth to 12th in terms of household access to broadband Internet. Said Spitzer recently: "In the 21st century, Internet access is no longer a luxury, it's a
necessity." If elected, Spitzer says he would partner with a private firm to bring high-speed access to New York residents at low rates. The company would pay for the infrastructure and agree to sell
access at low rates in exchange for the right to be the state's sole provider for several years--similar to what's happening in Philadelphia with EarthLink. The plan is likely to draw the ire of
telecom providers like Verizon, AT&T and BellSouth, nationwide providers that don't exactly sell broadband service at cut-rates. They need prices to stay high to help offset the massive cost of
upgrading their networks. While Spitzer declined to comment on what "affordable" means in this context, he would only say: "If you're kid growing up in South Korea, your Internet access is 10 times
faster at half the price than a kid growing up in the South Bronx."
Read the whole story at Business Week »
