Abstract
The United States has fallen behind its international competitors in broadband deployment, price, and openness in part because it has no national broadband policy. In contrast, most other countries adopted proactive programs to address the broadband needs of their citizens at the beginning of the decade that are now proving successful. Several U.S. states are now developing their own broadband plans because of the void at the national level. This session will propose an action plan for the nation based on the lessons learned from Europe, Asia, and some U.S. states and discuss what it will take to get such a plan through Congress.