High-speed Internet plan will expand e-gov

The Federal Communications Commission is planning to kill two birds with one stone as it works to expand high-speed Internet access. But FCC officials say the stimulus plan dedicated to providing online access for all Americans will have an added benefit--expanding e-government.

"In coming up with the national broadband plan, we are really practicing what we are preaching in terms of trying to solicit public input far and wide," Eugene Huang, the government operations director for FCC's national broadband task force, told nextgov.com. "The goal has been to make sure that this is an open and participatory process."

To help achieve this goal, the public is able to submit examples of how the Internet can help achieve national priorities, such as health care delivery and energy independence. So far, the FCC has attracted nearly 140,000 followers on its Twitter site, another way it is connecting to the public.

"We're still very much in the data collection phase" for the civic engagement strategy, Huang said. For that part of the plan, the commission is looking at best practices at all levels of government and seeking examples of successful e-government initiatives from the public, he said.

Darrell M. West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, said that he thinks the broadband expansion will naturally enlist the public in the act of government.

For more on the FCC and broadband:
- check out this nextgov.com article [1]