Countries throughout Europe and Asia already provide widespread access to high-speed broadband that’s up to 16 times faster than what we provide—and at much lower prices than we pay now. And while the U.S. was credited with developing the Internet in the 1990s, our broadband deployment ranking has dropped to 21st in the world. The Brookings Institute estimates that America’s broadband decline could lead to a potential loss of $1 trillion in economic productivity over the next 10 years as well as the potential loss of more than 1.2 million jobs that could be created by access to better broadband.

Even more disturbing is that Tennessee’s broadband deployment ranking has fallen to 34th in the U.S. We must do better. And we can. Statewide fiber deployment would have the greatest single impact on the quality of life in Tennessee since electric power. And it stands to make Tennessee one of the leading economies in the United States—and the world.