[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 25161]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           EXPANDED INTERNET ACCESS IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

  (Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, the natural beauty of western 
Massachusetts is hardly a well-kept secret. We are attracting more 
people each day who seek the quality of life that is offered. However, 
there is something that we need in western Massachusetts that would 
make our lives even better, and what we want is the high-speed Internet 
connections that our friends down the pike and in the Cape Cod area 
already have.
  Our businesses, employers, and households have a serious interest in 
the Internet to win contracts, coordinate production and distribution, 
export entertainment, enhance education, and both to teach and learn at 
the best medical centers. Right now there are too few capacity Internet 
data trunks that make the trek from Boston to western Massachusetts. 
When we get a few high-capacity Internet trunks or backbones, as they 
are called, we can take it from there.

                              {time}  1015

  We already have excellent fiberoptics within my district. This is why 
I support legislation that provides an incentive that is needed for 
expanded investment in the Internet backbone into rural areas. Having a 
better choice provides those who seek it stronger data links that will 
make Western Massachusetts an even better place to live.

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