III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 191 

Establishing a national goal for the universal deployment of next-generation 

broadband networks to access the Internet and for other uses by 2015, 

and calling upon Congress and the President to develop a strategy, 

enact legislation, and adopt policies to accomplish this objective. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 8, 2007 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

RESOLUTION 

Establishing a national goal for the universal deployment 

of next-generation broadband networks to access the 

Internet and for other uses by 2015, and calling upon 

Congress and the President to develop a strategy, enact 

legislation, and adopt policies to accomplish this objective. 

Whereas approximately half of households in the United 

States subscribe to high-speed data service over currentgeneration broadband networks, and the number of 

households subscribing to high-speed data service is 

growing by more than 20 percent annually; 

Whereas households in the United States have used these 

networks to access over the Internet and via direct conVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:55 May 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR191.IS SR191

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•SRES 191 IS 

nections an increasingly broad array of critical information, services, and applications; 

Whereas the information, services, and applications households in the United States access through these networks 

serve important policy priorities of the United States, 

such as improving health care and education, enhancing 

access to domestic and international markets, and reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gases; 

Whereas, because new information, services, and applications 

require increasing amounts of bandwidth, and that trend 

is expected to accelerate dramatically, current-generation 

broadband networks, with their limited bandwidth capabilities, are proving insufficient to meet the electronic access needs of households in the United States; 

Whereas next-generation broadband networks, with transmission speeds of 100 megabits per second, 

bidirectionally, have the capabilities to provide access to 

important bandwidth-intensive information, services, and 

applications being developed and can readily increase 

these capabilities for future developments; 

Whereas, recognizing that next-generation broadband networks are essential to the achievement of social objectives, economic competitiveness, and global leadership, 

other countries have adopted national objectives and 

strategies to deploy next-generation broadband networks 

and are already accelerating the construction of such critical infrastructure to households; 

Whereas next-generation broadband networks in the United 

States pass through only approximately 5 percent of 

households today; 


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•SRES 191 IS 

Whereas, at the current pace, next-generation broadband networks will not be universally available in the United 

States for more than 20 years, and, as a result— 

(1) households in the United States will not have access to critical information, services, and applications; 

(2) entrepreneurs and businesses in the United 

States will be constrained in developing new products and 

services that are accessed over the Internet and 

broadband networks; and 

(3) the overall welfare and economy of the United 

States will suffer substantially; and 

Whereas key leaders and organizations in the private sector 

have called recently for the immediate development of a 

national next-generation broadband network policy and 

strategy: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) establishes a national next-generation 

3 broadband network goal to bring, by 2015, universal 

4 and affordable access to networks with the capability 

5 of transmitting data at 100 megabits per second, 

6 bidirectionally, so that households, businesses, and 

7 government offices in the United States can access 

8 the Internet and, via direct connections, access other 

9 households, businesses, and government offices; and 

10 (2) directs the relevant congressional commit11 tees to work with the President— 


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•SRES 191 IS 

1 (A) to develop a strategy to achieve the na2 tional next-generation broadband network goal; 

3 and 

4 (B) to begin, by the end of 2007, to enact 

5 specific legislation and adopt policies to imple6 ment this strategy. 

Æ 


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