While Pennsylvania lost nearly 20,000 high tech jobs in 2002, a new study shows that widespread broadband deployment in Pennsylvania would create more than 54,000 new jobs in telecommunications and related fields, and spark nearly $22 billion in new economic output. Moreover, this boost would come at no cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers or the federal government.
The report, "State Economies Can Benefit From Broadband Deployment," was released by Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), a grassroots organization promoting common-sense economic policies.
"With a state budget deficit for 2004 projected as high as $2 billion, the Pennsylvania economy needs this kind of help. A revitalized telecom sector would replace every tech job lost in 2002 with at least two new jobs, and spark additional growth in related industries," said Dr. Wayne Brough, chief economist of the CSE Freedom Works Foundation and author of the study.
"While the Federal Communications Commission is moving in the right direction to promote wider broadband access, more work is still needed to remove barriers to deployment," said Dr. Brough. "Remove the regulatory barriers and Pennsylvania's high-tech revolution begins again," he said.
The telecommunications sector-the key to widespread broadband deployment -- has suffered dramatically since the year 2000, losing 683,000 jobs nationwide and $2 trillion in market capitalization. In November alone, more jobs were cut from the nation's telecom sector than in any other economic sector -- the second time in 2003 that telecom has set the country's benchmark for job loss.
The study shows that widespread rollout of broadband would create about 21,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania in the telecom sector itself-great news for laid-off tech workers in the Keystone State. These jobs would be matched by about 33,000 "spillover" jobs in related businesses.
"All our state economies need a shot in the arm. At least 41 states are projected to run budget deficits next year totaling up to $85 billion - or just under 20 percent of all state spending," Dr. Brough said.
State benefits from widespread broadband deployment are not only economic but social, as well. With the availability of the high-speed Internet, hospitals can provide the latest technologies in health care to patients located in rural areas, with little access to local health care. Schools can provide new opportunities for students with few local options to further their education. And, in an aging society, the Internet provides the elderly greater opportunities for independent living.
The study cites statistics showing less than a third of American households now have high-speed Internet access. According to the study, a consistent regulatory playing field for broadband will encourage deployment and invigorate an industry that is critical to economic growth and job creation, and whose effects ripple outward to numerous other industries.
Citizens for a Sound Economy, chaired by Dick Armey, is a group dedicated to lower taxes and less government.