U.S. President-elect Barack Obama laid out his plan for a huge economic
stimulus package, with broadband rollout, an Internet-based smart energy
grid and computers for schools as part of the plan.


During his campaign, Obama included rolling out broadband, energy issues and
computers for schools in his list of goals, but in Thursday's speech in
Fairfax, Virginia, he called for those items to be included in a giant
stimulus package he'll push Congress to pass within weeks. The stimulus
package could cost close to US$1 trillion.

The president-elect called the economic situation in the U.S. a "crisis
unlike any we have seen in our lifetime."

He also called for all U.S. medical records to be computerized within five
years. "This will cut waste, eliminate red tape and reduce the need to
repeat expensive medical tests," he said. "But it just won't save billions
of dollars and thousands of jobs -- it will save lives by reducing the
deadly but preventable medical errors that pervade our health care system."

Obama called on Congress to approve funding for rolling out broadband to
unserved and underserved areas, although his speech did not provide details
on how he wants it to happen. Several tech groups have called for a national
broadband policy that would include a mixture of tax credits, loans and
payments to broadband providers that bring broadband to new areas.

Part of the package should include rebuilding physical infrastructure such
as roads and bridges, Obama said. "But we'll also do more to retrofit
America for a global economy," he added. "That means updating the way we get
our electricity by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us
money, protect our power sources from blackout or attack, and deliver clean,
alternative forms of energy to every corner of our nation. It means
expanding broadband lines across America, so that a small business in a
rural town can connect and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the
world."

Smart energy grids would allow real-time monitoring of a customer's energy
use through Internet technology. Proponents of a national smart grid say it
would likely result in decreased electricity use, allow energy companies to
more efficiently distribute electricity, and encourage homeowners to install
alternative energy generators such as solar panels and sell their excess
energy back to the grid.

Obama also called for Congress to approve money for "21st-century"
classrooms, laboratories and libraries. "We'll provide new computers, new
technology and new training for teachers so that students in Chicago and
Boston can compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of
the future," he said.

Obama's priorities line up with several tech groups that have been calling
for more broadband and smart-grid funding. The Information Technology
Industry Council (ITI), a trade group, praised Obama's stimulus plan. The
package outlined by Obama represents an "excellent starting point," ITI
President Dean Garfield said in a statement.

"Our firms know that technology investments are the quickest way to
dramatically turn the economy around," he added. "Increased broadband
spending, electronic medical records, green energy investments and new
computers for schools and libraries are all smart ways to keep America
competitive while also creating new jobs and spending."