FAQs

Why invest in broadband and communications? Aren’t there other sectors that stand to benefit Colorado’s economy more?

  • We should be prepared to encourage and grow 21st century technology in our state so that Coloradans have access to and can enjoy the benefits of innovation.
  • According to a study from the Democratic Leadership Council, data from 1999 to 2006 reveals that communities with new access to broadband experienced 6.4 percent higher employment growth on average than before they had broadband. Rural communities benefited more than major cities by gaining access to larger markets for the first time. And workers with computer skills saw the greatest job growth overall. Administrative and business support services saw 14 percent employment growth, while company managers saw a whopping 40 percent employment growth.[1]
  • By 2016, the value of the combined mobile wireless voice and broadband productivity gains to the US economy — $427 billion per year — will exceed today’s motor vehicle manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries combined.[2]


How is Colorado positioned compared to other states?

  • Wireless communications and broadband services have seen exponential growth in the past decade. Many kids today rarely consider a “landline” phone to communicate and instead are immersed in the newest technology as quickly as it is deployed. Despite this fact, Colorado’s telecommunications laws have not changed with changing times and have not been updated in more than twenty-four years. Colorado is living in a landline-dominated era and should update its laws in order to be competitive and reflect the changes in technology.
  • Recognizing the importance of a robust communications infrastructure, 24 other states have chosen NOT to impose taxes on telecommunications equipment purchases. Colorado should be a leader in ensuring it is connected for the future by eliminating local and state tax barriers.

 

What can local and state policymakers do to encourage investment in broadband and wireless infrastructure?

  • Update Colorado’s telecommunications law to eliminate subsidies and encourage investment in new and improved technologies.
  • State leaders: pass legislation in the 2011 session that eliminates the statewide tax on telecommunications equipment purchases.
  • City leaders: pass a city ordinance that eliminates the city tax on telecommunications equipment purchases.



What can citizens do to encourage investment in broadband and wireless
infrastructure?

  • Sign up for updates on what your local leaders are doing to Think Ahead and to learn how you can support updating our laws to encourage broadband and wireless investment.

 

1 “Where Jobs Come From: The Role of Innovation, Investment, and Infrastructure in Economic and Job Growth” Jessica Milano. Democratic Leadership Council, Feb. 2010. http://www.dlc.org/documents/WhereJobsComeFrom.pdf
2 “The Increasingly Important Impact of Wireless Broadband Technology and Services on the U.S. Economy”, Roger Entner, CTIA - The Wireless Association, 2008