01/20/2009

Obama Vows To Build ‘Digital Lines'

By: Ted Hearn, Multichannel News

Washington-Barack Obama, sworn in Tuesday as the 44th president of the United States,  promised to renew the economy through bold action, including expanded access  to high-speed Internet connections as an engine of growth.

"The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act-not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth," Obama declared. "We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together."

Obama took his oath at noon on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, overlooking a sea of people estimated at 2 million gathered on the National Mall.

Obama's call for better broadband came a week after the House Appropriations Committee unveiled an $825 billion economic stimulus package that included $6 billion in grants to extend high-speed Internet access into unserved areas and improve it in underserved communities.

Source: http://www.multichannel.com/article/print/162439-Obama_Vows_To_Build_Digital_Lines_.php