The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
February 11, 2011

Obama Announces $18B Plan for Expanding Wireless Internet 
----------------------------------------------------------



President Obama has unveiled an $18 billion plan to expand high-speed
wireless internet nationwide. The funding would be raised by auctioning
off airwaves that currently belong to television stations and government
agencies.

President Obama: "We want to invest in the next generation of high-speed
wireless coverage for 98 percent of Americans. This isn't just about
faster internet or being able to find a friend on Facebook. It's about
connecting every corner of America to the digital age."

In promoting his plan, Obama noted that the internet was first created
by government-funded research before it was turned over to private
profit.

President Obama: "Today, more than 90 percent of homes in South Korea
subscribe to high-speed broadband. They just have better networks than
we do. In America, the nation that created the internet—by the
way, because of government investment; didn't just happen by itself
magically. Because of government R&D, we created the internet. But yet,
only 65 percent of households here in America can say the same."



.