ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the roles both broadband and the Internet play in today's fixed and mobile government environment. The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically highlighted the critical importance of broadband – especially for governments to continue vital communications and transactions with citizens. It is widely understood that government at all levels cannot operate in today's highly connected society without reliable broadband service and direct access to the Internet. There are a number of terms that require definitions to assist those who are not familiar with the telecommunications, broadband, and the Internet evolution. Federal, state, and local governments depend on broadband for critical communications, including police, fire and rescue, as well as utility and transportation systems. Broadband is almost always a bi-directional pathway, referred to as download and upload speeds. A download speed was, at one point in time, more important than upload speeds.
