California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dean Ernest J. Wilson III and senior communication and entertainment industry leaders called for ongoing dialogue about how to meet California’s digital infrastructure needs at The Deluge of Data: Growing California’s Digital Infrastructure for the Future, a conference sponsored by USC Annenberg.

The conference delved into topics such as how to create greater access to broadband Internet, what to do about a more crowded bandwidth as users download bigger and bigger files, and why the state and media companies need to plan ahead to ensure access doesn’t wane as the population increases. The conference took place Nov. 27 at the W Hotel in Westwood, Calif., and was organized by USC Annenberg's Center for the Digital Future.

“Simply put, to keep our economy moving we have to do everything we can to create our infrastructure faster, cheaper and better,” Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger cited studies that say the rollout of broadband throughout California could create 1.8 million jobs and $132 billion in income during the next 10 years. He also said the state’s infrastructure was built for about half of the current – and steadily climbing – 37 million residents, and that the state will need to invest $500 billion in infrastructure within the next 20 years.

“When you look at those numbers, you know there is not enough money in the public sector with the taxpayers because they could never afford it,” he said. “This is why I’m promoting public-private partnerships. I'm very excited about what the future holds.

He announced that the findings from the California Broadband Task Force, which includes communication professor Jonathan Taplin, will be released in December.

“Next month the broadband task force will release findings about how to make broadband available to everyone,” he said. “We have seen other places do it.”

Dean Wilson said the exciting transition to an information society is having a profound impact on California’s economy, politics, culture and communities.

“The digital future is something we are experiencing and inventing every day,” Dean Wilson said. “However, while the digital future is in many respects already here, it’s not evenly distributed.”

Dean Wilson moderated a panel that discussed what can and needs to be done to catch up to other countries in terms of digital media and broadband access.

Panelists included Jeffrey A. Campbell (below, second from left), the director of technology and trade policy of global policy and government affairs for Cisco Systems, Inc.; James W. Cicconi (below, right), senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs for AT&T; Ted Cohen (below, second from right), managing partner of TAG Strategic; and Mitch Singer (below, left), chief technology officer for Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and executive vice president of new media and technology for the studio.

“The key is broadband infrastructure,” Campbell said about the lack of broadband access. “We can have everything in terms of content, but if people cannot access them and at the appropriate speeds, it is worthless.”

Campbell said it is imperative to create policy that allows for better and easier private investment in new wiring because the infrastructure in the United States has only been funded privately to date.

Cohen said illegal pirating of music and video is slowing down access to the Internet.

“If you'll give me a piece of every illegal download, I'll give you a piece of every legal download,” Cohen joked, adding that most people don’t like paying for digital downloads that they feel they are already entitled for because they pay for Internet access.

“We're starting to see a bit of a bottleneck in mobile space,” Cohen said. “We're starting to see people's expectations rise even as we're starting to see little dips in service.”

Cicconi agreed.

“There's a feeling that if you can access it, you should be able to get it for free,” Cicconi said. “There has to be some common sense limits to people who pirate and use up bandwidth that negatively impacts others.”

The panel also discussed digital versus physical distribution of media.

Singer said companies have been slow to migrate from DVD sales to online distribution because it’s more expensive to code media for online access.

“Retail for physical media is still the most efficient way to sell our content,” Singer said. “It doesn't make sense to migrate from physical to digital if you don't enhance the product.”

Dean Wilson said he hopes this is the first of many discussions that take place among academic researchers, top industry leaders and government officials.

Governor's release and video remarks
Variety article
LA Times article
Photos from Steve Cohn