Broadband driving job growth, firm says

YouTube, other new Internet applications boost bandwidth usage

Each percentage point of broadband adoption adds roughly 293,000 private sector jobs a year to the U.S. economy, according to the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), citing research from the Brookings Institution.

The IIA is a coalition of nonprofit organizations and businesses promoting universal broadband access. The group says the Brookings study is another example of the importance of investment in and access to broadband technologies to the U.S. economy.

For the nation’s six largest states, nonfarm employment growth from a one percentage point increase in broadband adoption ranges from 13,000 in Pennsylvania to 32,400 in California, according to the IIA. Broadband-related job growth occurs in both the manufacturing and services sector, with “especially strong” impacts in finance, education and healthcare, the firm says.

Job growth is spurred by new Internet applications that consume more capacity – and require broadband connectivity -- more than by traditional Web page downloads and e-mail. YouTube, for example, uses as much bandwidth today as the entire Internet consumed in the year 2000, IIA claims.

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Each percentage point of broadband adoption adds roughly 293,000 private sector jobs a year to the U.S. economy, according to the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), citing research from the Brookings Institution.

The IIA is a coalition of nonprofit organizations and businesses promoting universal broadband access. The group says the Brookings study is another example of the importance of investment in and access to broadband technologies to the U.S. economy.

For the nation’s six largest states, nonfarm employment growth from a one percentage point increase in broadband adoption ranges from 13,000 in Pennsylvania to 32,400 in California, according to the IIA. Broadband-related job growth occurs in both the manufacturing and services sector, with “especially strong” impacts in finance, education and healthcare, the firm says.

Job growth is spurred by new Internet applications that consume more capacity – and require broadband connectivity -- more than by traditional Web page downloads and e-mail. YouTube, for example, uses as much bandwidth today as the entire Internet consumed in the year 2000, IIA claims.

The IIA says preparation for the coming Internet “exaflood” -- explosive growth of video applications and downloads that strain Internet capacity – includes:

• Investment in content, infrastructure upgrades and innovation in Internet applications.

• Market competition to ensure lower prices.

• Video franchise policy reform to maximize competition among service providers.

• Limited government control and taxation.

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