Is 'broadband for all' a boondoggle?

President Obama's economic stimulus package could mean big bucks for IT--roughly $37 billion in all. That includes $20 billion for online health records, $11 billion for a smarter power grid and $6 billion for high-speed Internet.

The idea is that broadband could boost economies in much the same way as railways and highways did in previous eras.

The Brookings Institution, a think-tank in Washington, DC, projects that for every percentage point increase of broadband penetration at state level, employment increases by 0.2 to 0.3 percent per year, equivalent to 300,000 jobs nationally.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, an American think-tank, estimates that $10 billion invested over a year in health-related technology would create more than 200,000 jobs.

But the Economist magazine suggests that even if these numbers are right, throwing federal funds at technology may not be the best approach.

The magazine notes that the country's telecommunications companies are already spending billions building next-generation networks, and suggests that simply creating electronic health records or promoting the spread of broadband may not produce the desired economic effects.

For more on the impact of the stimulus package on broadband:
- see this Economist article