by Doug Adams

My life is not that different from most men in their early 40s. Weekends are hectic, filled with kids’ games, events, and errands – all while never straying too far from “work mode” as I am connected via Blackberry and laptop seven days a week. Was life this crazy for my father when I was young?

My father might not have had three soccer leagues plus football to juggle or a workday that extended beyond 9-5 to deal with, but I can manage my responsibilities and take advantage of so many new opportunities thanks to broadband. In many ways my life is very different from what I envisioned it would be when I was a kid or even what I could have pictured even five years ago. While the substance of my life is much as I would have anticipated, I never imagined being able to watch my beloved Colts via an iPhone application at the same time as my son Jack is scoring a goal at his soccer game.� Being a supportive father in 2009 may require more work – but it is also a whole lot easier!

About a year ago, I introduced my son to U2. He loves the music almost as much as I do now – which is great – because what good is having kids if you can’t teach them to like what you like?� Unfortunately the 2009 U2 concert tour did not make it our way, but this weekend we watched the Los Angeles show streaming live via You Tube from start to finish.

Last weekend I awoke on Saturday to my four-year-old daughter on a Skype Internet call with her grandma in Connecticut.� Zoe, a child of broadband and the numerous educational games available online, had dialed-up Grandma on her own.� Just an example of how her exposure to the resources on the Web have made her so aware of the world around her and poised to compete in tomorrow’s world.

We’re a multiple laptop family – so at the same time Zoe was speaking with Grandma, 9–year-old Abby was playing her favorite online game, which requires her to organize, prioritize, and accomplish tasks before being rewarded with the next level. It’s no coincidence that we’ve seen these same behaviors manifested in her daily life.

My family is by no means alone in terms of how pervasive broadband has become in our everyday life. Earlier this year, eMarketer reported that consumers, even in this tough economy, are scaling back in other places, while keeping their broadband services intact.� When asked what they would give up if forced to scale back, Americans ranked broadband way behind digital television and telephone service (both mobile and land lines). More than 2 in 3 broadband users said they would keep broadband access at the same level or even scale up.

Similarly, a Pew Internet & American Life Project revealed that broadband adopters with income levels considered below poverty were twice as likely to cut back on cable TV and mobile phone service as they were broadband.

Clearly, Americans are driving the demand for broadband as so many rely on it daily for multiple uses, both at work and at home.� A national broadband plan, now under debate within the FCC and due out in February, must recognize this consumer-driven demand for powerful broadband to pervasively change how we live and conduct business.� Far beyond the current focus on net neutrality, a national broadband policy should ensure adequate broadband capacity and speeds to drive applications and innovation. At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, we believe the goal should be gigabit speed.

As difficult as change can be, the best changes can take us to new levels of personal and collective professional growth and accomplishment.� Certain aspects of my life are much the same as my father’s.� � Yet other aspects are better.� I can be more involved with family life while still being connected to the office. I can provide my kids with the tools to learn not just math, but help them see amazing applications of math, such as through an online tour of the Pyramids.� I can virtually take my son to U2 in Los Angeles and my daughter to see her grandmother in Connecticut in a weekend – without missing a soccer and simultaneous Colts game.� � With our nation’s potential broadband expansion, my father of the year prospects seem to be getting brighter and brighter.