United States President Barack Obama is now seeking the support of Congress for innovation and research in information technology apart from clean energy initiatives. During his State of the Union speech, he focused more attention on innovation beyond enhancing the education system. He also pledged that his administration would establish complete web portals where taxpayers can see the way their money is spent in an effort at increasing transparency.
Calls For Hiring Teachers
The President also urged schools to hire 100,000 fresh engineering, technology, science, and math teachers in the coming years. This appears to be in line with the objectives of big technology companies like International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). Obama said that the nation needs to outbid the rest of the world in innovation in the field of education.
Obama pushed for immigration reform arguing in favor of education for the children of illegal immigrants as well as foreign students.
Focus On Broadband Network Investment
Though Obama talked about the healthcare system and the fiscal deficit, he focused on continuing investments in broadband networks. In saying this, he was referring to the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to free the spectrum for mobile broadband in the US though he did not provide details on broadband. He lamented that South Korea has overtaken America in providing greater internet access to homes thoughout the nation with better infrastructure.
The President predicted that broadband providers would deploy their next-generation mobile broadband to 98% of US citizens within five years. He expects farmers in rural areas will benefit by gaining access to more markets and selling their crops throughout the world whereas firefighters would have the capability to download the layouts of burning buildings layouts. His objective is to connect every part of the United States to the digital age.