IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1292 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 20, 2008 

Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. DOYLE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

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 

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•HRES 1292 IH 

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 at least 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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•HRES 1292 IH 

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) educators and researchers will be limited in the 

information and data they can access and disseminate 

among colleagues, students, and the public; 

(3) 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 

(4) the overall welfare and economy of the United 

States will suffer substantially; and 

Whereas key leaders and organizations in academia and 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 House of Representatives— 

2 (1) establishes a national next-generation 

3 broadband network goal to bring, by 2010, universal 

4 and affordable access to networks with the capability 

5 of transmitting data at 10 megabits per second, 

6 bidirectionally, and by 2015, universal and afford7 able access to networks with the capability of trans8 mitting data at 100 megabits per second, 

9 bidirectionally, so that households, businesses, and 

10 government offices in the United States can freely 

11 access the Internet and, via direct connections, acmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cess other households, businesses, and government 

2 offices; and 

3 (2) directs the relevant congressional commit4 tees to work with the President— 

5 (A) to develop a strategy to achieve the na6 tional next-generation broadband network goal; 

7 and 

8 (B) to begin, by the end of 2009, to enact 

9 specific legislation and adopt policies to imple10 ment this strategy. 

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