Recently in the National Broadband Strategy Category

According to this story from the Wall Street Journal, just after the election the Obama transition team asked IBM to analyze how investing in America's IT infrastructure could spur job growth. IBM's response:

International Business Machines Corp.'s chief executive, Samuel Palmisano, advised the Obama transition team last month that $30 billion in government investments in expanding broadband access, computerizing health-care records and improving the electrical grid could create more than 900,000 U.S. jobs.

The days of cable boxes may be coming to an end -- and it will be widespread broadband adoption that makes it possible. As the Wall Street Journal reports, major consumer-electronics companies are working on installing network capabilities directly into high-definition TV sets, which could make set-top boxes obsolete. Meanwhile, online movie rental giant Netflix -- which already has streaming deals with Tivo and Microsoft -- is working with TV maker LG to offer on-line video services built in directly into sets. The shift faces a couple of hurdles, however. First, as the Journal reports:

It isn't clear how strongly consumers will respond. For one thing, many people, especially younger ones, have become comfortable using their PCs as TV sets, watching YouTube or streaming favorite TV shows.

"The number of people who watch an entire TV show on their laptops has tripled," says Genevieve Bell, an anthropologist who is director of the user experience group in Intel's digital-home group. But Ms. Bell says research by the company also suggests that many people also have extremely strong bonds to their TV sets. So any effort to add Internet content needs to be just as simple and not interfere with the experiences and behavior patterns the users enjoy. That means, she says, using a conventional remote control -- not some kind of computer keyboard, or a PC-style Web browser of the sort that emerged as a TV option in the 1990s.

Second, in order for TV shows and movies to run at an acceptable speed -- especially in high-definition -- a broadband connection will be required. Which means given America's sad rank in worldwide broadband adoption, it may be a while until your living room has one less console.

One of the major hurdles for FCC Chair Kevin Martin's free national wireless broadband has always been the so-called "smut-free" filter, which would block content deemed objectionable. Now, with the proposal on its last legs, Martin has dropped the filter. From Ars Technica:

Kevin Martin, the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, called Ars Technica today to let us know that he has revised his proposal to roll out a free (and smut-free) wireless broadband service. In an effort to corral more votes, Martin has already circulated a new version of the plan, one that removes the controversial smut filtering requirement.

Why the change? "I'm saying if this is a problem for people, let's take it away," Martin said. "A lot of public interest advocates have said they would support this, but we're concerned about the filter. Well, now there's an item in front of the Commissioners and it no longer has the filter. And I've already voted for it without the filter now. So it's already got one vote."

"Got anybody else?" I asked him.

The next FCC Open Commission meeting is scheduled for January 15. No word yet on whether Martin's plan will be on the docket.

On Monday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released two -- of a planned five -- research papers on broadband, its benefits, and the need to improve access to it in America.

The first, "Network Effects: An Introduction to Broadband Technology & Regulation," is available in PDF here. The second, "The Impact of Broadband on Senior Citizens," is here. Both are worth a read. (Via CNet.)

Ars Technica has an interesting report on the Department of Homeland Security's recent "Cyberwargames."

The Cyber Strategic Inquiry, held at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and Thursday, brought together 230 top leaders from government and the private sector for an elaborate simulation of a large-scale attack on America's information infrastructure. The simulation was run by the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in collaboration with Business Executives for National Security.

Participants were split into four teams comprising government officials, a private-sector team, a civil-society team, and a mixed-membership control group. The teams represented groups whose response in a real attack would be critical. On the government side, there was Homeland Security, the intelligence community, the Defense Department, and various civilian agencies; on the business side, financial services, telecom and IT firms, energy companies, and the transportation sector.

Unfortunately, the results from the tests weren't exactly encouraging:

"There isn't a response or a game plan," Booz Allen Senior VP Mark Gerencser told reporters, "There isn't really anybody in charge." House Homeland Security Chair James Langevin (D-RI) agreed, saying "we're way behind where we need to be now."

As the U.S. aims to build up its broadband infrastructure, these sort of doomsday games are going to become more and more vital.