On the same day that she toured Galvanize Denver, a working hub and learning center for technology startups and entrepreneurs, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unleashed a technology and innovation initiative that draws attention to the power of local innovation and local Internet choice for developing government driven broadband access and solutions.
Her “Technology & Innovation Agenda” notes that “[t]oday’s dynamic and competitive global economy demands an ambitious national commitment to technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.” The Agenda includes a section called “Investing in World-Class Digital Infrastructure” that discusses the establishment of an Infrastructure Bank to finance investment in new broadband networks including public-private partnerships for broadband. “This approach opens the door to upgrading networks, filling gaps in underserved areas, and new models of public-private partnerships, such as in Huntsville, Alabama and Westminster, Maryland.”
CLIC commends Westminster, Maryland, and Huntsville, Alabama, for being recognized as models of how government-facilitated, public-private broadband initiatives meet the mark. And we applaud Secretary Clinton and representatives of all parties who support these principles of local Internet choice and local initiative, which are of critical importance in multiple ways to America’s communities and their businesses, institutions, and residences. We hope that these principles will become as non-partisan at the State and Federal level as they are at the local level.