By Wendell Barbour

Broadband access is the key to the information economy and the modern education system. However, after over three decades on our nation’s college and university campuses, the information communication technology professionals, represented by the Association for Information-Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education (ACUTA), have been hindered in performing their responsibilities in providing the most effective and efficient access to information and communication within the academic communities.

ACUTA’s core purpose is to support information communications technology professionals as they contribute to the achievement of the strategic mission of their institutions. That’s why we are working, in collaboration with the NoChokePoints coalition, to eliminate the access barriers that are hindering broadband access to the information that is needed by our staffs, students and faculty in facilitating learning at our colleges and universities.

It is critical there are no impediments to sharing research data electronically, findings and ideas with colleagues at other institutions, facilitating distance education degree programs in our colleges and universities, and sharing our expertise with business and government. Access to high-capacity broadband at reasonable prices is critical for our institutions to provide these services our academic communities need and demand.

Making it difficult to access that information will have a real and lasting effect on our nation’s education system. We look forward to the day when our students can see the benefits of a functional special access market. Therefore, ACUTA supports the mission of the NoChokePoints coalition in advancing broadband deployment and urges the FCC to take immediate action in the form of a data request.