Solution to the Modernization of the Economy

The office as a workplace is declining in this world. It is not an efficient use of space and workers spend a large portion of time commuting to and from offices that could be better spent working. Technology has already created millions of jobs but it will also be the reason why many others adapt to take full advantage of it. The internet is becoming the new marketplace for startups due to worldwide exposure. Companies are moving away from the traditional workplace and moving towards telecommuting and contract labor.

The future of jobs relies on the worldwide connections accessible through the internet yet the United States is lacking in infrastructure to handle such a huge load of people accessing the internet at the same time. High speed broadband internet is a major obstacle in place for the transformation of work. The United States leads the world in broadband profits but ranks 35th out of 148 countries in internet bandwidth based on the World Economic Forum. The obstacles preventing faster broadband in the United States are the telecommunication companies despite the fact that studies show that it stimulates economic growth. Recent strides have been made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by reclassifying broadband as a utility. This ruling is being challenged by the telecommunications companies because it goes against their interest.

A prime example of how government regulation of broadband can be extremely beneficial can be seen in South Korea. With the introduction of the internet in the 1990s, South Korea focused their economy on the future by developing high tech industries.This embrace of technology has allowed Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung to become recognized brands that are envied throughout the world. Samsung displaced Apple as the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer in 2011, became the world’s largest producer of LCD panels in 2002, and the world’s largest television manufacturer in 2006. Hyundai Motor Group also became the fifth largest auto manufacturer in 2007. These advancements in the technological world coincide with the fact that South Korea has the fastest internet speeds in the world due to the fact that the government subsidizes internet so that people with lower incomes can have access to the plethora of information available online. Internet exposure for the Korean companies is what made them into the leaders of innovation in their respective sectors.

For the transition of the economy to be based on the internet, the United States needs to upgrade its infrastructure and subsidize internet costs so everyone can have access. Strides have been made with net neutrality declarations and reclassifying broadband as a utility. Yet there is still the issue of the telecommunication companies challenging these rulings and halting innovation for the sake of their own profits. For the United States economy to grow and create jobs for our sprawling population, the industries will have to modernize with fast internet capable of handling everyone will little to no downtime.

Sources:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/30/technology/us-struggling-to-keep-pace-in-broadband-service.html?nl=todaysheadlines&_r=1
• http://mic.com/articles/95778/one-statistic-shows-just-how-terrible-america-s-internet-access-is
• http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/31/broadband.south.korea/
• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/technology/net-neutrality-fcc-vote-internet-utility.html?_r=0
• http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140335/marcus-noland/six-markets-to-watch-south-korea
• http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399445,00.asp
• http://www.statista.com/statistics/267095/global-market-share-of-lcd-tv-manufacturers/
• http://www.hmmausa.com/our-company/about-hmma/hmc-fact-sheet/