It is no accident that the ambitious project is based on wireless technology: share of mobile Internet use is growing at a rapid pace and linking up all American households to cable-based networks would be too costly and not doable in a short time span.

 

In Europe, the race to replace today’s GSM and 3G networks and the Wifi infrastructure has been launched, too. Although it is expected that wire-based and wireless Internet supply will co-exist for quite a while, regulatory bodies and the telecom industry increasingly stake their money on mobile networks. In Switzerland, LTE and WiMAX, the successor of today’s 3G networks and popular Wifi shall enter service within four to five years from today (gartmann.biz reported earlier).

 

It is for quite some time that Barack Obama emphasizes that – not surprisingly for Non-Americans – the US risk to lose their worldwide economic leadership. There is no doubt that country-wide information networks – also for end-users – will be an important asset for countries in the future fight for economic development and leadership. The American initiative, for which Obama plans to spend some 18 bn. dollars, comes not a day too early; in emerging markets such as Brazil, India or Indonesia, the future of the Internet is wireless and spreading at a stunning pace.

 

Europe and Switzerland better don’t miss the development – even if the funding for the investments will not come from state sources but from the private sector.

 

Obama to unveil wireless Internet plan: Washingtonpost.com